A Different Story
by houseofanubislover10897
Summary: Emma is the newbie at school. And on her first day after some jocks try to persue her, she has a chance encounter with a gorgeous boy with blue eyes named Jake. They quickly become close friends and Emma begins to fall for him, hard. But little does she know that he has a secret of his own, one that could change everything.
1. Love At First Sight

Emma's POV

Today is my first day of school in America, and I'm very excited. After having breakfast with the others and Miss Peregrine our housemother, Olive,Victor, Enoch and I walk to school. We stop by the office and pick up our schedules.

"Darn it, looks like we don't have any classes with you Emma" Enoch says frowning as we compare our schedules.

"Oh that's alright, I'm sure this year is going to be great" I say excitedly as I give them a small grin. I am a little nervous about being alone in my classes, but hopefully I'll make at least one friend today.

"Olive,Victor and I are going to go find our lockers, why don't you come with us?" Enoch suggests.

"Thanks for the offer but I think I'll walk around a bit, you two go on without me" I say happily, giving them an encouraging smile.

"Well alright, but be careful" Olive warns me before they begin to walk off. I grin as I watch them walk away before turning and walking down a different hallway. I look at the numbers on the lockers and see that I'm near mine.

 _'225..227...Ah here we go,229!'_ I think to myself excitedly as I find my locker. I put my schedule in my bag after reading the combination.

"Well well well what do we have here lads?" an obnoxious voice says as I hear footsteps moving closer to me. I turn to the side and see three guys beginning to approach me.

"Looks like a newbie, we should give her a proper greeting. Right fellas?" the tallest one says grinning at me, and I see the lust clouding his eyes.

 _'Please no'_ I think to myself, feeling goosebumps spread on my skin and my heart begin to race faster in fear.

"please leave me alone" I beg them as they begin to close in on me.

"Awww don't be like that baby, we just wanna get you know you" The biggest one says as he begins closing in on me. I shrink back in fear and begin backing away. I manage to back up a few feet before feeling my back press into a wall. Suddenly the wall moves slightly and I realize that it wasn't a wall at all.

"Please don't hurt me" I beg as I turn around slightly to look at the guy I'd bumped into. I feel my breath catch in my throat as I come face to face with the most handsome guy I'd ever seen. He's wearing dark blue jeans, a blue V-neck T-shirt and black sneakers. He has black hair and blue eyes.

"Woah easy there, what's wrong?" he asks gently as he puts his hands up. I hear the three guys that were after me begin to approach and let out a little squeak, unconsciously moving closer to him. He looks up and glares at them over my shoulder.

"I'll handle this don't worry" he says reassuringly as he gently pushes me behind him, acting as some sort of barrier.

"Back off Portman she's ours!" one of the jocks demands.

"How about no? It seems to me she wants you three to leave her alone Clark" the boy growls as he moves his arm back slightly, in case on of the guys decides to try to get at me.

"Stand aside!" The biggest one growls as he begins to move forward.

"Or what? Are you gonna hit me? Go ahead, but if you do you know coach Johnson will kick you off of the team for a few games. Which means, no Playoffs" the boy scoffs tauntingly. The jocks growls and his friends look at him worriedly.

"What ever, that bitch isn't worth it" the jock grumbles as he stalks off, his friends close behind.

"I'm sorry about them" the boy apologizes as he turns to face me. He cocks his head to the side slightly and gives me a small smile.

"T-thank you" I stutter out shyly. His smile widens and I feel my heart melt.

 _'He's so gorgeous'_ I think to myself as I stare into his ocean blue eyes.

"You're welcome" he says gently as he walks over to my bag,which I'd dropped when I'd been trying to get away from those guys. He picks it up and walks back over to me. He holds it out to me and I give him a grateful smile as I take it.

"My name's Jake by the way" he says sweetly.

"I'm E-Emma" I stutter shyly.

 _'Nice work Bloom, he definitely won't like you now'_ I scold myself.

"Well then Emma, may I see your schedule?" He asks me kindly, giving me a small smile. I smile back at him and get my schedule out of my bag and hold it out to him. He takes it and looks at it for a few seconds, his smile widens as he scans it.

"Sweet, we have all of the same classes" he says happily as he gives me my schedule back.

 _'Thank you god'_ I think to myself gratefully. I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have the same classes as this gorgeous boy in front of me.

"C-cool" I say with a small grin forming. Suddenly the bell rings and I look up at him.

"It would be my pleasure to escort you to class miss Bloom" he says with a British accent, holding his arm out for me. He must have saw my name on my schedule.

"Why thank you Mister Portman" I grin as I take his arm gratefully, remembering what that jock had called him. He let's out a small laugh and begins leading me down the hall, ignoring the stares from his peers. I see Olive and Enoch glance at me curiously and I give them a small grin before we enter the classroom. Everyone stares at us in shock and I gulp nervously.

"Just ignore them, I do" Jake says supportively, giving me a reassuring smile. He leads me over to an empty table in the back of the room and pulls out my chair for me before I can even move.

"Such a gentleman" I say amusedly as I sit down, feeling a small blush creep up my cheeks.

"You deserve it" he says grinning as he sits in the seat next to me.

"I bet you say that to all the other girls" I say playfully, my blush deepening.

"What other girls?" he asks me playfully, his lips tugging upwards slightly. He turns to the front of the room and before I can say anything else, the teacher walks in.

"Hello class, my name is Miss Avocet and today we'll begin learning about _Romeo And Juliet_ " the English teacher begins as she moves over to her desk and picks up a stack of books.

 _'Very funny god, very funny'_ I think to myself sarcastically as she begins passing out the books. Jake picks up one of the books and gives it to me, shooting me a quick smile before focusing on grabbing his own copy.

"Now can anyone tell me a quote from _Romeo And Juliet_? come now don't be shy" Miss Avocet says smiling at everyone. I hear Jake shift in his seat slightly but stay focused on the teacher.

"Ah yes Mr. Portman! I thought you might have something" she exclaims, and I turn slightly to see Jake's hand halfway up. He lowers his hand and out of the corner of my eye I see Miss Avocet give him a knowing smile.

"My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite" he says poetically and I hear several of the girls in the room swoon. I feel my legs turn into jelly as he turns his head and grins at me.

"Well done Mr. Porman!" Miss Avocet congratulates him before returning to talking more about the book. I giggle as I notice a light blush appear on his cheeks.

"Now we'll be reading this book in class, but I do recommend reading it as home as well, so you can get to know the characters some more" Miss Avocet begins to explain. I hear some of the boys on the other side of the room groan and Miss Avocet chuckles.

"Now now children, this isn't that bad. And I've spoken to Miss Wren and she's agreed to let us do the play _Romeo And Juliet_ after we've finished reading the books!" Miss Avocet says grinning. Out of the corner of my eye I see Jake smile and I see the excitement in his eyes.

 _'Sweet,confident,handsome, and he loves Romeo And Juliet? Could he be anymore perfect?'_ I ask myself, feeling a goofy smile grace my lips. For the rest of class I'm drifting in and out from 'lala land' as I think about everything that has happened today.

 _"Emma, Emma?"_ I hear Jake say faintly. Suddenly I'm snapped out of my thoughts by someone roughly shaking my shoulder. I turn my head to the side and see Jake looking at me curiously.

"You alright? it's time to go, class is over" he says gently. I look around and see that we're the only ones left in the room.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Sorry I just got lost in thought I suppose" I chuckle as I feel my cheeks heat up for what feels like the millionth time.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he suggests as we begin to get up and exit the room.

"Nah it's silly" I brush off playfully.

"C'mon you can tell me" he says hopefully as he holds out his arm for me, which I gladly take once again.

"Maybe I shouldn't" I tease him.

"Please" he begs, a playful pout on his lips.

 _'Just when I started thinking he couldn't possibly get any cuter, he finds a way to do just that'_ I swoon.

"I was just thinking about that quote you said earlier" I tell him shyly. Technically it's not a lie, it's just not the only thing I was thinking about.

"Oh really? what about it?" he asks me curiously.

"I was just thinking about how sweet it was...the quote I mean!" I catch myself so I don't embarrass myself.

"It's one of my personal favorites" he says with a small smile. We walk to our next class in a comfortable silence and once again we sit in an empty table in the back of the room. And once again Jake pulls my chair out for me.

"You really don't have to do that you know" I say amusedly as I sit down

"I know, but I want to" he says playfully as he sits next to me. I grin at him and we focus as the history teacher begins our next lesson.

"Hello children, my name is Mr. Emerson and today we shall be watching a documentary on 9/11" he says as he turns the projector on and turns off the lights. After a few minutes the video starts and the room goes silent.

Two classes later it is finally lunch time and Jake and I are sitting at a table joking around with each other and telling stories.

"So you moved here from Cairnholm with your family?" Jake asks me curiously.

"Yes, with Miss Peregrine our housemother" I confirm.

"Wow that's amazing" he says impressed. I grin at him for a few seconds before taking a bite out of my apple.

"So how are you liking America so far?" he asks me curiously.

"It's definitely nothing like Cairnholm, but it's definitely beginning to grow on me" I say amusedly, giving him a small smile which he gladly returns.

"So Emma, Who is this?" I hear a familiar British accent ask from behind me.


	2. Meet The Family

Jake's POV

Emma and I are sitting at a table eating lunch together, just goofing off and enjoying each others company. I'm really glad I was there to stop those jocks from touching her. I don't know why, but ever since I first saw her I've just wanted to protect her, to be near her. There's just something about her that draws me in, and I love it. When I looked into her eyes for the first time I was starstruck, how could anyone want to harm this beautiful angel in front of me? When she touched my arm I felt a spark, is this what love at first sight feels like? I've never bothered with any of the girls at school, don't get me wrong I've had my fair share of them flirting with me, it just never felt right. But with Emma it's different, she's sweet,funny,absolutely adorable when she blushes. And don't even get me started on her beautiful accent. This girl is perfect in every way, and she seems to really like me.

"So you moved here from Cairnholm with your family?" I ask her curiously, remembering what she had told me a little bit ago. She sure does have a big family, eleven foster siblings and their house mother Miss Peregrine.

"Yes, with Miss Peregrine our housemother"she explains, a small smile on her face.

"Wow that's amazing"I say impressed. I don't think I could handle being in her shoes, in a house full of young kids all day, everyday. I don't have any brothers or sisters, and my parents are gone for long periods of time, all the time. In fact they just left yesterday for a trip to Vegas and won't be back for three damn weeks. I'm almost 17 years old, I can take care of myself, but that doesn't mean I want to be alone for so long. She smiles at me for a few seconds before taking a bite out of her apple.

"So how are you liking America so far?" I ask her curiously after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"It's definitely nothing like Cairnholm, but it's definitely beginning to grow on me"she says amusedly, giving me a small smile that I gladly return. I love seeing her smile, I definitely want to get to know her better, and maybe one day ask her out.

"So Emma, Who is this?" I hear a guy with a British accent ask from behind us. I turn around in my seat and see two boys with brown hair and a girl with red hair watching us curiously.

 _'Ah these must be Victor,Enoch, and Olive. Emma mentioned they are our age'_ I realize as I look back and forth at each of them.

"Oh this is Jake! Jake these are a few of my foster siblings that I was telling you about, Victor,Enoch, and Olive" she explains excitedly with a smile on her face. I grin at her for a moment before refocusing on the three teens.

"Well hello Jake! I'm Victor" the tallest, and probably the oldest one says as he holds his hand out for me to shake.

"Nice to meet you" I say as I shake his hand. He lets go of my hand and the girl begins to speak.

"Hi I'm Olive" she says with a smile on her face. I give her a small grin and shake her hand. Olive is beautiful, but definitely not as beautiful as the angel sitting next to me.

"What are you doing with Emma?!" the boy with the darker brown hair demands, glaring at me.

"Enoch don't be rude!" Olive says, lightly slapping him on the shoulder.

 _'Well...at least 2 out of 3 like me'_ I think to myself.

"Emma get away from him!" Enoch orders, ignoring Olive's protests as he grabs Emma's arm.

"Enoch let go of me!" Emma protests as he roughly pulls her out of her seat.

"Hey man she said let her go" I say protectively, standing up from my seat.

"This is for your own good! I'm not letting you get hurt again!" he growls, ignoring me. He pulls on her wrist even harder and I hear a small pop.

"Ouch you're hurting me!" Emma cries out, wincing in pain.

 _'Oh hell no! That's it!'_ I think angrily.

"Let her go" I growl as I grab his wrist and twist it, causing him to release Emma's wrist, and flip him onto his back. The room goes silent and all I can do is glare down at the boy that was hurting my new friend.

"Emma are you alright?" I ask her concerned as I gently cup her now red wrist.

"I-I think so" she whimpers. My heart practically breaks as I see tears slide down her cheeks.

"I think it's dislocated" I say to her, remembering the popping sound.

"It hurts Jake" her voice cracks.

"I-I didn't mean to" Enoch tries to defend himself from his spot on the floor, he's now sitting up.

"Well you did. You're the one that hurt her, not me" I growl at him, wrapping an arm around Emma's shoulders. She lays her head against my shoulder and I look down at her concerned. I look back at Victor and Olive and see them looking down at Enoch, anger and disappointment in their eyes.

"I'm gonna take her to the nurse" I tell them quietly. They nod in understanding and I grab my backpack. I slug it over my free shoulder and then I grab Emma's.

"C'mon Em" I say gently, leading her out of the cafeteria. We walk in silence for a few minutes before Emma speaks up.

"Thanks for standing up for me Jake...again" she says gratefully.

"You're welcome Emma, there was no need for him to behave like that" I say understandingly, gently rubbing her shoulder.

"Enoch's..complicated" she says quietly.

"You don't need to explain. But on a lighter note, at least 2 of your foster siblings like me" I say cheerily, trying to cheer her up. She let's out a small giggle and I grin at her, happy that I made her feel a little better. We finally make it to the nurses office and I have her sit in one of the chairs.

"I'll be right back" I whisper to her as I put her bag down next to her.

"Okay" she says quietly, holding her wrist. I take one last look at her before walking across the room to the secretary's desk.

"Excuse me Miss Finch, my friend Emma Bloom needs to see the nurse. I think her wrist is dislocated" I say to the woman. Her eyes widen and she immediately calls the nurse. I walk back over to Emma and crouch down in front of her. She looks down at me and watches as I gently hold her wrist in my left hand and softly stroke it with my right hand's fingers. She puts her free hand on the back of my neck and once again I feel a spark. I look up into her eyes and I see pain,gratefulness, and something else swimming around in her eyes. She opens her mouth to say something but before she can get a word out, the nurse enters the room. I release her wrist and stand up. Mrs. Dust, the nurse, leads us into her office and has Emma sit on the small bed that you normally see in a doctor's office. I stand next to her and gently stroke her uninjured wrist.

"Alright dear I'm going to have to pop it back into place, this will hurt" Mrs. Dust warns Emma gently. Emma turns her head to look at me and I see that she's very frightened.

"I'm right here with you, it'll be okay I promise" I say soothingly. Without another word Mrs. Dust pops Emma's wrist back in place and Emma let's out a small cry of pain. I reach up and gently wipe away the tears that slip out of her eyes.

"Shhh it's ok. Look at me, just look at me Emma" I say soothingly as Mrs. Dust begins wrapping up Emma's wrist. Emma sniffles and I gently wrap my arm around her, hugging her close to me. She snuggles closer to me and I instinctively kiss the top of her head. It takes me two seconds to realize what I just did, and I feel my cheeks heat up.

 _'Please don't freak out,please don't freak out'_ I silently prey. Instead of freaking out like I thought she would, Emma just snuggles closer to me.

"Alright miss Bloom, you're all set. Keep your wrist wrapped up for a few weeks and it should heal in no time" Mrs. Dust says kindly, giving us a small smile.

"Thank you" Emma murmurs into my neck.

"I'll take care of her" I tell Mrs. Dust as I help Emma get off of the bed.

"C'mon Emma let's go" I say softly, leading her out of the nurses office. I grab Emma's bag from the floor beside the chairs and sling it over my shoulder with my bag.

"Do you want me to take you home?" I ask her gently.

"Yes please" she says quietly. I nod and wrap my arm around her shoulders. I lead her outside and towards my car. I open the door for her and she slides into the car. I put her bag down by her feet and put mine in the backseat. I walk around the car and get in on the drivers side. I start the car and begin pulling out of the school parking lot. Emma gives me the directions to her house and soon we're in her driveway. Turns out she lives only 10 minutes from my house.

"Thanks for the ride Jake, I appreciate everything you've done for me today" she says gratefully as I turn off the engine.

"Anytime Emma, you don't need to thank me I'm just glad I can help" I say grinning at her. She looks forward at the house for a few seconds before turning to look at me.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asks me hopefully.

"I'd love to" I say happily. She smiles widely at me and we get out of my car. We walk up the steps and Emma opens the door. I stand in the doorway nervously not knowing if I should just follow her inside. She turns back to look at me and gives me a small smile before gesturing with her head for me to follow her. I give her a small smile and close the door and follow her deeper into the old fashioned house. We enter the kitchen where a woman In her mid-thirties or early forties, is standing in front of a stove preparing something. The woman turns around and smiles at Emma. I notice that she has black hair and grey eyes, and she's wearing a dark blue outfit that looks very formal.

"Hello Emma you're home early" she says kindly. She notices me and I see a little confusion in her eyes.

"Oh! And who is this?" she asks, looking at me curiously.

"Oh this is Jake...my new friend" Emma explains, a light blush forming on her cheeks.

"Well then, any friend of Emma's is welcome here. Miss Peregrine, delighted to meet you" Miss Peregrine says kindly with a smile on her face. She holds out her hand to me and I shake it, smiling politely at her.

"It's very nice to meet you ma'am, Emma's told me so much about you" I say politely as I release her hand.

"Oh please Jake, I must insist that you call me Miss Peregrine. Being called ma'am makes me feel old" she laughs amusedly. Suddenly we hear several pairs of footsteps enter the room behind us. I turn around and see several children looking at me curiously.

"Jake these are the rest of my Foster siblings, everyone this is Jake" Emma says, smiling at me sweetly.


	3. A Story At The Dinner Table

Emma's POV

"Jake these are the rest of my foster siblings, everyone this is Jake" I say happily, smiling sweetly at Jake.

"Hello" Jake says shyly. The others let out similar greetings and continue to watch Jake curiously. Claire cautiously walks towards us and looks up at Jake.

"Are you Emma's boyfriend?" she asks him innocently. I feel my cheeks heat up and the other children start giggling. I look at Jake nervously and he just lets out a small chuckle of amusement and crouches down to Claire's level.

"Actually I'm not her boyfriend, but I do care about her. She's a very nice girl" he says to Claire sweetly, turning his head to look up at me and grins. He focuses back on Claire and she smiles at him.

"I like you. You're a lot nicer than Emma's old boyfriend, he was very mean" Claire says innocently, and the room goes completely silent. My eyes are wide and I see the other children looking at Claire in shock.

"Claire" Miss Peregrine says sternly, warning in her tone. Jake looks up at me, and I see concern and worry swimming around in his eyes.

 _'Please don't ask, please don't ask'_ I silently prey. I'll tell him about it when I'm ready, I don't want to scare him away.

"Well then he was stupid, your sister is a lovely girl" he says, turning his head to look back at Claire.

"Alright! I'm going to give Jake a tour of the house. Run along and play, all of you" I say sternly. Claire gulps and they all run off. Jake stands back up and looks at me curiously.

"C'mon" I say gently, taking his hand with my uninjured one. For the next two and a half hours I show him around the house and tell him stories, mostly about when Miss Peregrine adopted each of us.

"Well today sure has been interesting" Jake says as we sit on my bed.

"Very" I agree with him. We sit side by side in awkward silence for a few minutes, and Jake decides to break it.

"Listen Emma...about earlier...what Claire said" Jake starts to say nervously.

"Jake-" I begin to say pleadingly.

"I just want you to know that I'm not going to pry, I'll wait until you're ready to tell me about him yourself" he finishes awkwardly. He gives me a small smile and before I can even give it a second thought, I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him. I ignore the stinging sensation on my wrist and stay completely focused on this moment, on this hug with this really _really_ sweet guy. He wraps his arms around me gently and hugs me back, one of his hands on my back, the other playing with a few strands of my long blonde hair. I sigh and nuzzle my face into his neck.

"Thank you" I murmur into his neck for the second time today.

"You've said that a lot to me today" he says playfully into my ear.

"Well I have a lot to be thankful for" I say quietly. Instead of giving me a verbal response he just pulls me closer to him. After a few minutes of comfortable silence I break our hug, even though I really _really_ didn't want to. We just sit there looking into each others eyes and suddenly we slowly begin leaning in towards each other. We begin closing our eyes and our lips are only inches from each other, when fate decides to intervene.

"Emma! Jake! Dinner time!" Miss Peregrine calls from downstairs.

 _'Damn it!'_ I internally curse. So close..and yet so far.

"We should go down there" Jake murmurs, and I feel his warm breath against my face.

"Yeah" I say quietly, trying to hide my disappoint. I start to look down and slowly stand up when suddenly I feel something warm press against my cheek. I look up surprised, and see Jake pulling away with a small smile on his lips.

"C'mon" he says softly, taking my uninjured hand in his. A smile breaks out on my face and he grins at me, he gently pulls me up and we exit my room. We go downstairs and release each others hands before going into the kitchen. Everyone is beginning to sit down and look up as they hear us enter the room. Suddenly Miss Peregrine gasps, gaining all of our attention.

"My goodness! Emma what happened to your wrist?" she asks me with a shocked look on her face. The other children notice my bandaged wrist as well and ask similar questions.

"Yeah Enoch what did happen to her wrist?" Jake asks angrily as he leads me to two empty seats. We sit down as all of the younger children and Miss Peregrine look at Enoch expectantly.

"What's wrong Enoch? Cat got your tongue? Go on and tell them the truth" Jake says tauntingly. Enoch glares at Jake and out of instinct I put my hand over Jake's.

"Enoch what is he talking about? What did you do?" Miss Peregrine asks him sharply.

"I-I" he stutters embarrassedly.

"Well since he isn't to keen on admitting what he did, I'll tell you" Jake says calmly, turning his head to the right slightly to look at Miss Peregrine.

"Today at lunch your son decided to put his hands on Emma and yank her up out of her seat when he,Victor,and Olive saw us sitting together" he begins to explain, sending Enoch a quick glare. Miss Peregrine looks at Victor and Olive expectantly, and is probably going to try to scold them for not stopping Enoch. When Jake hurriedly begins to speak, coming to their defense.

"Olive tried to stop him, but he ignored her. He pulled on Emma's wrist harder, and dislocated it" Jake says, and the others gasp in shock.

"Enoch O'Connor!" Miss Peregrine says disappointedly.

"He's going to hurt her Miss P!" Enoch begins to try to defend himself.

"Hurt me?! He saved me" I snapped, causing everyone to turn to me shocked.

"He saved you? How?" Victor asks me curiously, shooting a quick look at Jake.

"When you three went off to find your lockers, I started walking around and found mine. When I was about to try to open it, three jocks cornered me. Saying things like welcoming me _'properly'_ " I say, shivering slightly at the memory. They all gasp and look at me worriedly.

"Emma" Miss Peregrine says worriedly, probably remembering what happened two years ago.

"I started backing away from them, and bumped right into Jake. When he saw those three guys he got in front of me and told me he'd handle it, and not to worry" I begin to explain, smiling proudly at Jake. I look back at all of the others and see them watching us curiously.

"When he told them to back off, the biggest one told him to stand aside as he began to get in Jake's face. And instead of backing off he taunted him by saying 'Or what? Are you gonna hit me? Go ahead, but if you do you know coach Johnson will kick you off of the team for a few games. Which means, no playoffs'" I say, mimicking the way Jake had said those words, causing him to chuckle slightly.

"The guy backed off saying 'what ever, she's not worth it' and left with his buddies following him quickly" I finish, censoring part of what he'd actually said.

"Wow" Hugh says, looking at Jake as if he was his hero.

"And then what happened?" Bronwyn asks curiously.

"Well Jake turned to me and apologized to me about them, and introduced himself. After our introduction he escorted me to English class, and thus our friendship began" I say with a grin on my face, keeping our flirting session to myself.

"After the fiasco at lunch, I took Emma to the nurse, and drove her home afterwards. She asked me if I'd like to stay for dinner, and here I am" Jake says with a grin on his face.

"My goodness! We'll you've certainly had an interesting day" Miss Peregrine says, giving me a knowing smile when she notices that I still have my hand over Jake's. I blush and remove my hand from his, luckily the other children didn't notice.

"Well now let's not just sit here with our tummies rumbling, everyone dig in" Miss Peregrine says happily, and everyone begins to eat.

"Jake you should probably go home, your parents are probably really worried about you" Miss Peregrine says kindly after we all finish eating.

"Will you come back tomorrow Jake?" Fiona asks hopefully, and the other children all let out similar pleads.

"Sure" Jake says kindly, causing everyone but Enoch to let out happy cheers. Jake gets out of his seat and I lead him to the door.

"I really had a nice time tonight Emma, your family is really nice" Jake says happily, giving me a quick hug.

"Maybe next time I could meet your family" I say sweetly.

"Maybe. But I'm warning you now that they really aren't the type of people you'd like to be around" he says darkly at the mention of his parents. Before I can ask him about it, he smiles down at me and kisses me on the cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow Em" he says sweetly before leaving, closing the door behind him. I watch him get in his car from the window, and wave at him as he drives away. I stay there for a few minutes before turning around and sliding down to the ground with my back against the door, and let out a happy sigh.

Jake's POV

After 10 minutes of driving I finally pull into my garage. I turn off the car and pull the keys out of the ignition. I get out of the car,lock it, then I close the garage door and unlock the front door. I unlock the door and go inside the house.

"I'm home" I call out as I lock the door behind me. The sound of an empty house answers me as I put my backpack on a kitchen chair. And all I can do is sigh as I move further into the house. I walk into the kitchen and grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. This day has been crazy, I protected a beautiful blonde angel, befriended her and flirted with her, protected her again, and then met her family.

 _'She's so beautiful'_ I think to myself, taking a small sip out of my water. I like everyone in her family, well _almost_ everyone. At this moment I really can't stand Enoch.

 _'I wonder how stupid her ex was to throw away the best thing that could've ever happened to him'_ I think to myself. Oh well, she's my girl now...wait _what_? Oh who am I kidding? She may not be my girl yet, _officially_ anyways, but hopefully soon that will change. We were so close to kissing earlier! Oh god that small pout she made, it took all of my self control not to pin her to her bed and kiss her right then and there. Instead I had settled on kissing her on the cheek. I let out a small sigh and walk to my bedroom. I put my water on my desk and quickly change into a pair of basketball shorts and take off my shirt. I set my alarm and lay back on my bed. I close my eyes and after a few minutes of thinking of my angel surrounded by a golden halo of light, I fall fast asleep. And begin to dream about looking up at my beautiful girl, smiling down at me from her spot on a balcony.


	4. Invitation

Jake's POV

The next morning I get up and search my closet for something nice to wear, something that would get Emma's attention. I've never wanted to impress anyone before, but I definitely want to impress Emma. I want her to be able to look at me and think ' _is he really mine?'_ , and I am. I'm 100% hers, I have been ever since she backed up into my chest yesterday. I finally decide on a white V-neck T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and my black sneakers. I quickly get changed and grab my favorite black jacket from my computer chair. I also grab my phone and put it in my pocket. I quickly put my jacket on as I make my way to the kitchen, I grab my backpack from the chair and an apple from the bowl of fruit on the counter. I grab my keys, which I'd dropped next to the bowl of fruit, and go into the garage. I lock the door and press the button on my key chain to open the garage door. I get in my car and start it, I pull out of the garage and close the door. Then I continue to drive to school.

 _'I go past their house anyway, maybe I should stop and see if they'd like a ride'_ I think to myself. Without a second thought I make my decision, I pull into their very long driveway and get out of the car. I quickly move up the front steps and lightly knock on the front door.

"Just a moment!" I hear Miss Peregrine call out faintly. I smile slightly and wait patiently, looking at the beautiful front yard. I remember driving past their long dirt driveway hundreds of times, but I'd never driven up to the house until yesterday. The yard is beautiful, there's a small lake, or rather a large pond a few feet away from the driveway, hundreds of beautiful flowers planted along the house and in a small garden next to it. The property is surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of trees, as if it's in it's own little world. This whole place looks like something straight out of a story book, and I love it. Suddenly the door creaks open and I turn around in time to see Miss Peregrine poke her head out.

"Ah hello Jake! good morning" she says cheerily, giving me a small smile.

"Good morning Miss Peregrine, I was wondering if Emma,Victor, Olive and Enoch would like a ride to school" I say politely.

"How thoughtful, come along inside. I'll go fetch them" Miss Peregrine exclaims happily. She ushers me inside and closes the door behind me. She hurries up the stairs and a few minutes later she comes back down with Emma,Victor and Olive following her eagerly, holding onto their school bags. Emma grins at me and hugs me.

"Well hello to you too" I say amusedly and she giggles. I wrap my arms around her and hug her back, and she snuggles into my chest immediately.

 _'Dear god, this feels amazing'_ I think contently. I notice that Victor and Olive are grinning at us over Emma's shoulder, and my face heats up in embarrassment. I break our hug and scan the room for any sign of Enoch.

"He said he'd rather walk" Olive explains to me. I nod understandingly, after last night I don't really want to be around him either.

"Alright then, let's go guys" I say to them.

"Have a good day Miss Peregrine" I call out politely as we begin to leave.

"You as well Mr. Portman!" I hear Miss Peregrine say faintly before the door closes behind me. Emma must have told her my last name after I left last night. I lead them to my car and get in the drivers seat. Emma gets in the passenger seat and Victor and Olive slide into the backseats.

"Oh let me get my bag out of your way Victor" I say after I notice that my bag was in front of his feet.

"No no it's fine Jake, I really don't mind" he says nicely, grinning at me. I smile at him for a few seconds before refocusing on the wheel. After making sure everyone is buckled up, I back up and turn the car around, then I begin pulling out of the driveway.

"Thanks for driving us Jake" Olive says appreciatively.

"Yeah thanks Jake, this is really nice of you" Victor says gratefully.

"I hope this wasn't out of your way Jake, even though it's really thoughtful" Emma says sweetly, and I notice her looking at me from the corner of my eye.

"Don't worry about it, I actually drive past your driveway everyday when I go somewhere" I say honestly, grinning at them in the mirror.

"Really? Do you live close by?" Emma asks me curiously.

"Yeah, about 10 minutes away actually" I say as I finally make it out of the driveway and onto the main road.

"Really? Do you think we could come over sometime? we haven't really had a chance to make any friends since we started living here a couple weeks ago" Victor asks me.

"Sure! Come by anytime" I say happily as I begin pulling into the school parking lot.

"Thank you Jake" Olive says gratefully as I park in one of the empty parking spaces in front of the school.

"Don't you start! I get enough of that from this one!" I say playfully, pointing at Emma with my thumb. Victor and Olive chuckle and I see Emma blushing with a small smile on her face. I chuckle and turn off the car, I take my keys out of the ignition and unbuckle my seat belt. We all get out of the car and I lock up my car before taking my bag from Victor.

"Yo special Ed!" I hear Ricky call out to me as we enter the school. I turn and see him walking over to me with a grin on his face.

"Sup man?" I say amusedly as we bro-hug. Out of the corner of my eye I see Emma,Victor and Olive watching us confusedly.

"Nah same old same old, what's going on with you man? I heard your folks left on another trip" Ricky asks me curiously.

"Yup they left two days ago, what else is new?" I ask sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"How long are they gonna be gone this time?" he asks.

"Three freaking weeks! Honestly it's like living with roommates not parents" I say annoyed. I'm honestly getting sick of being left alone every few weeks for who knows how long.

"Ouch, sounds rough dude" he says sympathetically.

"Yeah, don't worry I'm used to it" I say reassuringly. We stand there in awkward silence for a few minutes before Ricky snaps his fingers.

"Oh! that reminds me, I came over here to invite you to a party at my place. It's this Friday!" he says excitedly.

"I dunno, your last party was really wild" I say unsure, remembering how crazy his last party a few weeks ago was.

"Oh come on dude it'll be fun! I promise it won't be as bad as last time" he says reassuringly.

"Oh alright! You've talked me into it" I say amusedly and he does a fist pump.

"Yes! Oh and feel free to bring along your friends" he says excitedly, gesturing to Emma,Olive and Victor. I feel bad because for a moment I forgot that they were there. Ricky doesn't wait for me to respond, he just takes off down the hallway and disappears into the crowd.

"I'm really sorry about that" I say to them sympathetically.

"Oh it's fine! don't worry about it, I take it he's a friend of yours?" Victor says curiously, glancing at where Ricky had taken off to.

"Yeah that was my best friend Ricky, I know sometimes he can be a bit much" I say nervously, rubbing at the back of my neck. I hope my interaction with Ricky didn't change their opinion of me and scare them off.

"He seems nice" Emma says amusedly.

"He's definitely interesting to say the least" Olive agrees.

"Alright, well now that that's over with, let's get to class" I say amusedly, holding my arm out for Emma. She giggles and takes it anyways. Victor and Olive grin at us for a few seconds before going off to find their classes. And just like yesterday I escort Emma to English class, ignoring the stares coming from my peers. They've never seen me act like this before. To be honest until yesterday the only person I ever bothered with was Ricky. I mean sure I got into scraps with the jocks now and then, and occasionally talked to a girl for a few minutes when Ricky tried hooking me up with her, but I never really bothered with being social with anyone. And just like yesterday, I lead Emma to the table in the back of the room, pull out her chair for her and sit next to her once she's seated.

"Alright class today we will be picking up right where we left off. Mr. Portman would you please recite another quote to the class?" Miss Avocetasks me kindly.

" Under loves heavy burden do I sink" I say with pure emotion. Several girls in the room swoon, including Emma. I internally smirk and make a note of having to recite poetry in front of her more often.

"Well done Mr. Portman! Now can anyone tell me the underlining meaning?" Miss Avocet asks the others. They all look at her with confused expressions on their faces, and I can see Emma is trying her hardest to figure it out.

"Miss Avocet, if it's alright could I recite another one?" I ask her innocently, with my hand slightly raised.

"Of course!" she says eagerly, and Emma looks at me curiously.

"My only love sprung from my only hate" I recite perfectly, looking deeply into Emma's stormy grey eyes, causing Emma to blush. After I've finished speaking I turn to look at Miss Avocet, who looks very impressed.

"Brilliant Mr. Portman! Now can anyone tell me the meaning for either of those quotes?" she asks, looking around the room. Emma nervously raises her hand slightly.

"Ah yes miss Bloom! Go right on ahead dear" Miss Avocet says encouragingly.

"Um..well" Emma stutters nervously, looking at me. I see the fear in her eyes and know I have to help her out somehow.

 _'Courage'_ I mouth to her. this one word seems to ignite something within her, because she takes a deep breath and I see the fear be replaced with confidence. She looks straight at Miss Avocet and I notice the way Miss Avocet's eyes light up, she knows what I did.

"Romeo was a Montague and Juliet was a Capulet. Their families hated each other. Romeo was basically saying that he fell in love with someone he was supposed to hate" Emma says.

"Well done Miss Bloom!" Miss Avocet congratulates. The rest of the day passes by in a blur, and before I know it I'm driving Emma,Olive, and Victor home. I park in front of their house and I can't help notice the way Emma is looking at me with hope in her eyes.

"Are you staying for dinner tonight Jake?" Victor asks me curiously as we get out of the car.

"I'd hate to impose" I say nervously.

"Nonsense, Miss Peregrine won't mind. Please join us" Olive begs.

"Oh alright, but only because you said please" I say playfully causing all three of them to laugh. We enter the house and all I can hear is the younger children squealing as they play in another room. We all enter the kitchen just in time to see Miss Peregrine finishing washing the dishes. She turns around when she hears us and grins.

"Ah welcome back Mr. Portman! I take it you'll be staying for dinner again tonight?" she asks me curiously.

"If you'll have me" I say hopefully.

"There's always room" she says, grinning at me.


	5. A Day At The Mall

Jake's POV

The next two days pass by quickly, and before I know it, it's Thursday. Emma and I had made plans to go to the mall, so we could spend time together somewhere other than her house or at school.

 _'I'll have to be sure to by an outfit for tomorrow'_ I remind myself. Emma, Olive and Victor are very excited about the party tomorrow, apparently they've never been to a party before so this is a whole new experience for them. I pull into the driveway and after a few minutes I'm able to park in front of the house. I quickly exit the car and make my way up the porch. I lightly knock on the door and Miss Peregrine opens it with a small smile.

"Hello Jake, I assume you've come to pick up Emma?" she says with a knowing smile on her face.

"Yes ma'am" I say respectfully and she gives me a playful glare after I say _'ma'am'_.

"I'll go fetch her for you" she says before disappearing up the staircase. After a few minutes she comes down and my jaw almost drops. Emma is wearing a beautiful light blue flowing dress that comes down a little below her knees, she has a few little pink flowers pinned in her hair, and is wearing brown flats. She blushes when she sees that I'm staring and walks down the last few steps.

"D-does this look bad? Should I go change?" she asks me nervously, a shy blush painting her cheeks.

"No! I-I mean no it's perfect, you look beautiful Em" I say bashfully.

 _'Get a grip Portman!'_ I scold myself.

"Oh thank you" she says bashfully. I grin at her before refocusing on Miss Peregrine.

"I'll have her home by 8:30" I promise her.

"Oh don't worry about that! Bring her back by 9:30, I insist! Now run along and have fun you two" she says playfully, ushering us out the door and closing the door behind us. We laugh and get into my car. After about a half an hour of driving we make it to the mall. I park the car and we quickly get out and make our way inside of the giant entertainment center. Emma gasps in amazement and looks around at several of the shops.

"Where would you like to go first?" I ask her curiously, a small grin on my face.

"I um, can we just look around for a few minutes until we find a store we're interested in?" she asks hopefully.

"Of course" I say understandingly, holding my arm out for her.

"Such a gentleman Mr. Portman, you sure know how to make girls feel special" she says playfully, taking my arm.

"Just one girl" I correct her playfully, leading her farther into the building. She leans her head on my shoulder as we walk and that's when I notice the best shop to take her to first, the most adorable place to start a first date. Wait a moment, _date_? Could this count as a first date?

 _'Sheesh get a hold of yourself Portman! This isn't a date'_ I scold myself.

"C'mon" I say eagerly, leading her over to the colorful shop. She giggles and looks around in wonder. I grin to myself, feeling proud that I'd made the right choice.

"Hello welcome to Build-A-Bear workshop, how can I help you?" a girl a few years older than us asks, and that's when I notice she's in the store's uniform.

"Hello, I'd like to get my girl over here a bear or two" I say happily, grinning down at Emma. She blushes and buries her face into my shoulder.

"Oh of course! We have a fine selection right this way" she says before gesturing for us to follow her as she begins to walk further into the store. After a few minutes Emma picks out two bears, one with dark brown fur and a light brown circle of fur over it's right eye, and one with light brown fur and a circle of dark brown fur over it's left eye. I coax her into picking out a couple of outfits for each of them. She picks out a light blue dress and a light pink ribbon that has a flower on it for the girl bear (the light brown one), and a blue shirt,jeans, and a black jacket for the boy bear (the dark brown one). Which is exactly what I'm wearing. She also picks out a spare outfit for the bears. A light pink dress and a light blue ribbon with a flower on it for the girl bear, and a white shirt with the Build-A-Bear logo on it and a pair of light brown shorts for the boy bear. We go to the cash register and Emma gasps when she hears the total.

"Oh no! Jake I'll go put the outfits back" she says sadly as she begins to turn and walk away, but I grab her arm gently before she can get anywhere.

"No you're not, don't worry I'll take care of this" I say reassuringly, giving the cashier my credit card before she can protest.

"Thanks Jake!" she says happily hugging the boy bear to her chest, the girl bear in the bag.

"You're welcome Em" I say happily, a big grin on my face as I watch her cuddle the boy bear. We continue to walk away from Build-A-Bear and go into Macy's.

"How does this look?" she asks me, walking out of the changing room. For the second time today, my jaw almost drops. She's wearing a long sleeve light blue shirt, the sleeves are loose and go up to just above her elbows, and dark skinny jeans that show off her perfect curves.

"Wow" I say amazed, entranced by how beautiful she looks.

"Is this too much?" she asks me worriedly.

"No no, it's perfect" I assure her, looking up from my spot on a bench to look into her beautiful eyes.

"You look beautiful" I say starstruck.

"Oh well, thank you" she says bashfully, a light blush coloring her cheeks. I stand up slowly and look down at her, smiling at her warmly.

"You're very welcome" I say sweetly. We stay like that for several minutes, just staring deeply into each others eyes.

"I um, I'll go get changed so we can leave" she stutters before going back into the changing room. She exits a few minutes later, now wearing her blue dress. And I immediately notice the sadness in her eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I ask her softly, lightly touching her arm.

"It's nothing, these clothes are just too expensive for me to buy that's all" she says gently, putting the clothes on a nearby counter before walking off, probably to find a cheaper outfit. I glance at the folded clothes on the counter and think about how happy Emma looked a few minutes ago.

"Oh Fuck it" I say to myself before grabbing the clothes off of the counter and the Build-A-Bear bag. I quickly pay for the clothes and hurry over to Emma.

"Jake" she sighs when she sees the extra bag in my hand.

"Look before you say anything, I don't mind buying things for you. I enjoy it, please just let me spoil you" I say pleadingly, looking into her eyes.

"Oh alright" she says, trying to sound annoyed despite the grin she has on her face.

"Good, now C'mon we still have to find an outfit for me to wear" I say playfully, leading her to the men's section.

"How about this?" she asks me, holding up a dark blue plaid button-up shirt.

"I like it" I say, checking the size. Luckily it's exactly my size.

"Alright I think we're all set, I have black pants at home that will go nicely with this" I say to her, gesturing to the shirt in her hand. She nods and we head over to the checkout. I pay for the shirt and put it in the bag with Emma's clothes.

"Okay how about some ice cream?" I ask her playfully, leading her to the _Sweet Frog_ frozen yogurt shop. She grins at me excitedly and tugs on my freehand, pulling me inside. I chuckle and we get our cups. Emma looks around at all of the different flavors in amazement and I can't fight the grin that desperately tries to make it's way onto my face. She finally decides on bubble gum ice cream and we make our way to the toppings. I put whipped cream and little cotton candy dippin' dots on my cotton candy ice cream. Emma also tops hers with whipped cream and some chopped nuts. I pay for our ice cream and we sit side by side in a booth. After what feels like hours of flirting and laughter, we finish our ice cream.

"Emma?" I hear a unfamiliar British accent call out, and Emma freezes. I turn my head to the side and see a guy with dark brown hair making his way over to us. I take one look at him and I've already decided I don't like him, there's something...off about him, I can sense it. Emma grips my hand tightly under the table, and that's when I know that she doesn't like this guy, at all.

"Hello Alexander" she says nervously, and I can tell that she's frightened by the way she shifts closer to me.

"Oh come now Em don't be like that, I thought we were pals remember?" he says, giving her a knowing smile. There's something in his eyes that doesn't sit right with me, so I do the only thing I can do that won't cause a scene. I let go of Emma's hand and wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her to me protectively.

"Oh and who's this?" he asks curiously, taking notice of me for the first time.

"Jacob Portman, I'm Emma's boyfriend" I say stiffly, lightly rubbing Emma's tense shoulder. His hazel eyes darken and I glare at him, silently challenging him to try and pull a fast one on me. His eyes widen slightly and he backs off a bit.

 _'That's right, back off she's mine!'_ I silently growl.

"Well it was nice to see you again Emma, I do hope we can _catch up_ soon" he says with a smirk before walking away and exiting the shop. We sit there frozen in our spot for a few minutes before I feel Emma begin to shake against me.

"Emma? Sweetie what's wrong?" I ask her concerned. I don't even acknowledge the fact that I just called myself her boyfriend or called her sweetie, that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is that Emma looks completely terrified, and I can hear her breathing deeply. Instead of giving me a verbal response she just launches herself against my chest and clings to me as if I'm her lifeline. I wrap my other arm around her and hold her close to me.

"Can we please go?" she whimpers into my chest, and I feel my shirt dampen slightly.

 _'She's crying'_ I immediately realize. When I get my hands on that guy I'll kill him.

"Of course" I say soothingly, rubbing her back gently. She grabs our stuff and I quickly throw away our trash. We make our way to my car and I put everything in the backseat. Emma shakily buckles her seatbelt and I pull out of the parking lot. After a few minutes of silence I risk sneaking a glance at Emma and see her trying to hold back tears. I take my right hand off of the wheel and gently hold hers. I give it a reassuring squeeze as I continue to drive us to the only place I know she'll feel comfortable enough to open up about what just happened. I pull into my garage and close the door behind us. I unlock the door to the house and we quickly get inside. I put all of our stuff on the living room floor before going back and locking the door to the garage. Emma whimpers and curles up into my chest once I sit down next to her after turning on the lights in the living room and kitchen. I don't push her into saying anything, I just hold her close and continue to try and sooth her.


	6. The Truth About Emma's Past

Jake's POV

After a few minutes of holding her close and whispering soothing words to her, Emma decides to try to speak.

"Th-that was Alexander... m-my ex boyfriend" she sobs out. I freeze and look down at her surprised, and that's when I remember something Claire had said the day I first met Emma and the others.

 _"I like you. You're a lot nicer than Emma's old boyfriend, he was very mean"_ her voice echo's in my head.

"Emma what did he do to you?" I ask her concerned. Based on how she acted earlier, he did something terrible.

"He...he" she tries to get out before full on sobbing. I pull her closer to me and gently stroke her hair, hoping to sooth her.

"He raped me two years ago" she whimpers, and my hand freezes in mid stroke.

"What?" I gasp out angrily.

"W-we were just relaxing at his house, his parents left for the market. And after he was sure they were gone h-he pinned me on to the couch" she sobs. My free hand shakes in anger and I feel a growl escape from my throat.

"I-I tried to stop him Jake, I really really did" she whimpers, lifting her head off of my chest to look at me through her teary eyes.

"Shhh I know you did, it wasn't your fault sweetheart" I say soothingly, cupping her face in my hands. She sniffles and I wipe away her tears.

"I swear, the next time I see that bastard I'll kill him, he deserves to die after doing that to you" I say murderously

"No!" she says loudly, launching herself against my chest.

"Jake please don't, I don't want Alexander to hurt you" she begs.

"I can take that beanpole" I say determinedly, already planning on where to bury his body once I've finished with him.

"Jake please" she begs, cupping my face in her hand. I close my eyes and lean into her touch, putting my hand over hers.

"Okay" I say quietly. As much as I don't want to, I'll do this for her.

"Okay" she says quietly, and I grin at her. She strokes my cheek gently, and that's when I know I've found heaven on earth.

 _'Good god, please don't stop'_ I silently plead. I wrap my arms tighter around her and pull her so she's slightly on top of me. She giggles and looks down at me, her hand still cupping my cheek. I start to get lost in her eyes when I suddenly remember something.

"What is he doing in America?" I ask confusedly, and she sighs sadly before removing her hand from my cheek. And I immediately miss the feeling of her touch.

"His family moved to America shortly after Miss Peregrine had a restraining order put against him, he also spent 6 months in juvy" she says quietly. I feel her start to tremble above me and hug her close to me.

"I swear I will never _ever_ let him touch you again" I promise her, leaning up and pressing my forehead against hers.

"I'm scared Jake" she says frightened.

"Don't be, as long as I'm here he will never _ever_ be able to hurt you again, I'll protect you" I say soothingly. I rub our noses together and she giggles. I smile up at her before moving my head away from hers and checking my phone for the time. The screen reads 9:00 pm.

"Do we have to go?" Emma asks sadly, pouting slightly.

"Hold on I'll call Miss Peregrine" I say gently before dialing the number.

"Hello?" I hear Miss Peregrine say confusedly.

"Hello Miss Peregrine" I say.

"Ah hello Jake! Are you and Emma on your way back?" she asks curiously.

"Actually we're at my house, something happened at the mall"I begin to explain.

"What!? What happened?" she asks concerned.

"We um...we ran into Alexander" I say nervously, my voice full of distain as I say the bastards name. I hear Miss Peregrine gasp in shock and decide to continue.

"He didn't touch her, but she's very shaken up. I don't think she wants the others to see her like this" I say concerned, looking at Emma who is clinging to me as if I'm her lifeline.

"Understandable" Miss Peregrine says, trying to hide her concern.

"Could Emma stay here for the night?" I ask her hopefully.

"Of course, just be sure to bring her home tomorrow" Miss Peregrine says.

"Of course" I quickly agree.

"Goodnight Jake, take care of her" she says quietly.

"Goodnight, and don't worry I will" I promise her before hanging up. I put my phone down on the coffee table and look back at Emma, who is looking at me hopefully.

"Looks like you're spending the night" I say playfully, grinning at her.

"Yay!" she says happily before yawning.

"Alright let me up so I can get you settled in" I chuckle as I carefully slide her off of me and stand up. She giggles and follows me to my room. I notice her checking it out as I grab a pair of shorts and my _Imagine Dragons_ T-shirt out of my dresser.

"There's a bathroom down the hall you can change in, it's the last door on the right" I say gently, giving her the clothes. She smiles and nods before leaving the room. I take one of my pillows off of my bed and grab a extra blanket out of my closet. I exit my room and return to the living room. I put the pillow on the couch begin spreading the blanket over it.

"Jake what are you doing?" Emma asks me curiously as I continue to set up my temporary bed.

"I'm sleeping on the couch tonight, you're sleeping in my room" I say softly as I smooth out my blanket.

"I couldn't do that, that's your room. I'll take the couch" she tries to protest.

"No I insist, you're my guest so you shall sleep in my room. I'll be fine on the couch Em" I say determinedly. She sees that I won'ttake no for an answer and quickly agrees. I grin feeling pleased with myself, and she pouts.

 _'Dear god stop torturing me'_ I silently groan as I watch her lightly bite her upper lip. It's taking all of my self control not to kiss her senseless right now.

 _'Get a hold of yourself Portman! You just found out her ex raped her for god's sake!'_ I mentally scold myself. That thought snaps me out of it, and I refocus on fixing my temporary bed. After making sure it's all set, I go back to my room and grab a pair of basketball shorts to sleep in. I quickly get changed and rejoin Emma in the living room. She smiles as I sit next to her on the couch and lays her head on my shoulder.

"Thanks for today Jake, I had a great time" she says tiredly, letting out a small yawn. I chuckle and look down at her amusedly.

"You're welcome. Now C'mon you cheeky little bugger, it's time for bed" I say playfully in a British accent. She giggles tiredly and I help her stand up. We walk into my room and I help her get settled under the covers.

"Jake?" she says quietly as I begin to exit my room. I pause in the doorway and turn around to look at her.

"Yeah?" I say curiously, taking a few steps into the room.

"Will you...will you stay with me? Just until I fall asleep" she asks hopefully.

"Sure" I say warmly, giving her a small smile before walking back over to my bed. I sit on the side of the bed, next to Emma's legs. I rub one of her legs comfortingly and she closes her eyes, a small smile on her lips. After a few minutes I know she's fallen asleep and carefully get up. I lean in and lightly kiss her forehead before quietly turning off my lamp and exiting my room. I go into the living room and lay on the couch. After a few minutes I fall fast asleep, dreaming about Emma smiling at me as we walk along the water at the beach holding hands.

I wake up to a blood curdling scream. I sit up feeling very dazed for a couple seconds before realizing that Emma was the one screaming. I bolt off of the couch and rush into my room.

 _'Hold on, I'm coming!'_ I shout in my head as she lets out another terrified scream. There is no worse feeling in the world than the one that comes with hearing the one you love screaming a blood curdling scream, feeling like you can't get to them fast enough. I turn on my bedroom light as I pass by it in my rush to get to Emma. I hurry over to the bedside and kneel down next to it.

"Emma, Emma wake up sweetheart it's just a nightmare" I say quietly, shaking her shoulders as she continues to scream in her sleep. She sits up frantically and looks around the room quickly. When her eyes meet mine I see the terror in her eyes and quickly move so I'm laying next to her. I wrap my arms around her and she curls up to me. She sobs into my chest and I just hold her close, already knowing what she'd been dreaming about.

"I-it was so horrible...I-I" she tries to get out before full out crying into my shirt.

"Shhhh shhh it's alright, I'm here now, You're safe" I say comfortingly, removing my right hand from around her waist to gently stroke her hair. She lets out a small whimper and tries to snuggle even closer to me. After a few minutes she finally begins to calm down and I remember something that might help sooth her.

"I'll be right back" I promise her before untangling myself from her.

"Please don't go" she begs me, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"I'll be right back Emma I promise" I say comfortingly before slipping out of the room and going into the living room. I quickly grab my blanket and pillow off of the couch, grab the Build-A-Bear bag, and rush back into my bedroom. I put my blanket and pillow down on the other side of Emma and put the bag on the floor. I kneel onto the ground and pull the boy bear out of the bag. I give it to Emma and she hugs it to her. I pull the girl bear out of the bag and put it next to her. I turn on my bedside lamp and cross the room and turn off my bedroom light. I get onto my bed and lay so I'm in between Emma and the wall. Emma turns off my lamp and the moonlight lights up my room. I lay flat on my back and hold out my right arm so Emma can use it as a pillow, which she does. I close my eyes and begin to drift to sleep. But before I can lose consciousness I. feel Emma roll over and wrap her arm around my chest. I open my eyes and look down at her. I'm able to make out her form in the moonlight. She has the boy bear's paw in the hand that is draped over me, and her cheek is resting against my chest. Her eyes are closed and she looks peaceful, a much better look than the terrified expression she'd had a few moments ago. I carefully lift my left hand and tuck a few locks of her beautiful blonde hair behind her ear. I gently stroke her cheek and feel my heart melt as she leans into my touch.

 _'Alexander can't have her, she's mine'_ I think to myself as I wrap my left arm around Emma protectively.

"Goodnight beautiful" I whisper as I close my eyes. After a few calm breaths I fall asleep, and for the second time tonight I dream about Emma and I walking hand in hand on the beach.


	7. A Serious Conversation

Emma's POV

An annoying beeping sound emits throughout the room. I groan and bury my face further into my pillow, trying to block out the annoying sound. The pillow vibrates slightly and I moan in contentment. My blanket tightens around me and I begin to try and fall back asleep.

 _'Wait. Pillows don't vibrate and blankets don't tighten around someone by themselves'_ I realize. I open my eyes and realize I'm cuddling into a guy's chest. I gasp and look up at the guy's face, and feel relief wash over me when I realize it's Jake. That's when all of the memories from yesterday rush back to me.

 _'He must think I'm such a loser, screaming in the middle of the night like that'_ I think sadly. As if sensing what I'd been thinking, Jake lightly rubs my back. I smile and gently stroke his cheek with my right hand. He lets out a small groan and turns his head so he's leaning into my touch.

"Jake, Jake C'mon it's time to get up" I say quietly, cupping his cheek.

"Nooo" he grumbles sleepily, his eyes still closed.

"Yesss" I say playfully, a small smirk on my lips. He opens his eyes and grins at me sleepily.

"G'morning" he says tiredly.

"Good morning to you too sleepyhead" I say playfully, kissing his cheek. I feel my cheeks heat up and carefully roll off of the bed. I hear Jake groan and roll over, and the annoying beeping sound stops.

"Get dressed, we have school today" I instruct him with a grin as I begin to leave the room. I turn and look at him as he begins to sit up.

"Yes ma'am" he says, giving me a two fingered solute as if he was a soldier. I giggle and leave the room before I could get anymore distracted. I grab the bag of clothes from yesterday off of the living room floor, and make my way into the bathroom. I quickly get changed and go back to Jake's room to get my shoes. I let out a small gasp when I see Jake with his back turned to me, pulling on a dark green sweater over a white T-shirt. It's the first time I'd been able to have a good view of the muscles on his arms. He's not ripped like Victor, but he's still well built. He could definitely hold his own if he was ever in a fight.

 _"I swear_ _, the next time I see that bastard I'll kill him, he deserves to die after doing that to_ _you"_ Jake's words from last night echo in my head. Jake turns around and grins at me.

"Hey" he says happily, smoothing out the V-neck sweater before walking over to me.

"Hey back" I say amusedly, wrapping my arms around his waist. He chuckles and wraps his arms around me, hugging me back. I nuzzle my face into his shirt and take a deep breath, enjoying the softness of the material, and the natural scent of the salty ocean air... the natural scent of Jake.

"Alright go put on your shoes and I'll join you in the living room in a moment" he says softly after a few minutes of comfortable silence, breaking our hug.

"Okay" I say with a grin. He smiles back at me and exits the room. I grab my shoes from next to his bed and put them on. I enter the bathroom and see Jake brushing his teeth in front of the mirror above the sink.

"There's a spare toothbrush in the cabinet" he says after spitting out toothpaste.

"Thanks" I say gratefully, going over to the cabinet next to the sink and finding the toothbrush. I rejoin him at the sink and put a little toothpaste on the brush. Jake begins combing his hair as I brush my teeth and I can't stop myself from checking out the little curls at the back of his neck. I spit out the toothpaste and he hands me a damp washcloth. I wipe my mouth and rinse off the washcloth.

"Jake do you have an extra comb I could use?" I ask him hopefully. He just lets out a small laugh and opens the cabinet, he pulls out a comb that's still in it's package and gives it to me. I grin and open the package. After a few minutes we're both ready to go and exit the bathroom. Jake grabs his phone from the coffee table and his backpack from a chair in the kitchen.

After ten minutes of playful banter and innocent flirting, we arrive at my house.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to change my shoes" I say with a small grin, looking into Jake's eyes.

"Okay, but hurry back or I'm leaving without you guys" he says playfully, a small grin on his lips.

"You better not!" I laugh as I open the door and exit the car. Before I close the door I hear Jake laughing at our little exchange. It feels amazing to finally have someone I can just be myself around. Since what happened two years ago everyone has been treating me like I'm fragile, like I'll break at any moment. But when I'm with Jake I can forget about all of the bad things, and focus on the good. I enter the house and hurry upstairs. I go into my room and sit on the edge of my bed. I'm just about to start taking off my shoes when there's a knock on the door.

"Emma? Can I come in?" I hear Olive ask, her voice muffled on the other side of the door.

"Yeah C'mon in!" I call out before refocusing on taking off my shoes.

"Hey, can we talk for a minute?" Olive asks as she enters my room, and I tense up for a second. When someone asks if they can talk, that normally isn't a good thing.

 _'Is something wrong?'_ I ask myself.

"Sure. Is there a problem?" I ask unsurely, looking up at her concerned.

"No no, there's no problem" she says reassuringly, a small smile on her lips.

"Okay, well what is it then? Jake's waiting for us" I say curiously.

"Jake's actually what I wanted to talk to you about Emma" she says as she sits next to me.

"Um...okay?" I say warily.

"How do you feel about him? How does he make you feel?" she asks gently. I look at her confusedly for a few seconds, pondering over where to begin.

"I like him, he's a great guy" I say, hoping that she'll accept that and move on.

"And?" she asks persistently.

 _'Damn'_ I internally curse.

"He..he's very sweet, he's caring, very smart...he's very brave" I begin bashfully, remembering how we first met.

"Oh really? What else?" she asks curiously, leaning in slightly

"He's handsome, I've noticed that all the girls want him...When I'm with him I-" I cut myself off, unsure of how to continue.

"You what?" she presses gently.

"I-I feel safe, I feel like I can be myself. Like I don't need to pretend, when I'm with him...I can forget everything bad that has happened and just focus on being happy. He makes me happy" I explain, becoming more confident as I speak. Olive grins at me, and I look down in embarrassment.

"You really like him don't you?" she says quietly.

"Yeah...yeah I do" I say quietly, turning my head slightly to look at her.

"But that doesn't matter, I'm not sure he feels the same way" I say doubtfully. Why would he want me? I'm nothing special, he should be with one of those other girls that fawn offer him. They're a lot better than me.

"First of all Emma none of that is true, you're very special. And in case you haven't noticed, Jake doesn't care about those other girls" She scolds me. Damn, I didn't realize I'd said that out loud.

"Second of all, how could he not want you? He's crazy about you, I can see it, hell all of us can see it" She says firmly.

"How can you be so sure?" I ask doubtfully.

"Emma when Victor, Enoch, and I saw you two walking to class on our first day, I could see in his eyes that his attention was on you one hundred percent. He didn't care about anyone that was staring at you guys, he didn't even glance at any of them. I've seen the way you two act around each other, you're like magnets. You attract to each other just like that. When you move he moves, and vice versa" she continues, patting my back.

"I told him about Alexander" I murmur, and her hand freezes.

"What?" she says shocked.

"We ran into him at the mall yesterday, Jake put his arm around me and told Alexander he was my boyfriend" I say quietly, internally shivering from the memory.

"Jake immediately took me to his house, I was in shock the whole ride in the car. I told him everything once we were seated in the living room. He saw how frightened I was and called Miss Peregrine. She agreed that I should stay with him for the night" I explain, turning to look at her.

"That's why you didn't come home" she realizes.

"Yeah" I say quietly, not wanting to talk about this anymore.

"Did you two-" she begins to ask warily.

"No! No we didn't didn't do anything. Jake let me stay in his room, he slept on the living room couch" I say hurriedly, leaving out the fact that I had a nightmare. And that Jake and I had fallen back asleep cuddling.

"Oh okay" she says, but I could see in her eyes that she knew I'd left something out.

"Emma he cares about you so much, why do you think he told Alexander he's your boyfriend? It's because he wants to be with you, he wants to protect you" she says calmly.

"He saw how scared I was, he was just looking out for me" I try to argue.

"Emma why are you doubting yourself?! He cares about you, maybe even loves you! Look I've heard from tons of his classmates that the way he is around you is way different than the guy they've grown up with. He's never been like this before, this care free, with anyone. Not even Ricky" she exclaims. I stay quiet for a few minutes, thinking of what I should say.

"I'm scared Olive" I admit quietly.

"Of what? Of Jake?" she asks confusedly.

"No! I'm scared I'll screw everything up, that I'll lose him if I open myself up for a relationship. What if I do something that hurts him? What of I scare him away? I can't lose him Olive" I say afraid, a tear sliding down my cheek.

"Emma listen to me, he cares about you so much. He stayed by your side after you told him about Alexander, and he'll continue to stand by you through anything else that happens" she says calmly, and I begin to relax.

"You think so?" I ask hopefully.

"I know so" she says, grinning at me. I grin back and suddenly remember Jake calling me 'his girl' when we were in _Build A Bear_. I blush at the memory and Olive giggles.

"Now hurry up and put on your shoes, I don't think your man will wait for us forever. Well..you maybe, Victor and I not to much" she says amusedly as she exits my room. I quickly put on my white sneakers and grab my school back from my desk chair before exiting my room.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Jake says amusedly as I get back in the passenger side. I notice that Victor and Olive are already buckled up in the backseat.

"Sorry I was just making sure I had everything I need in my bag" I say apologetically as I buckle my seatbelt.

"Eh _hakuna matata"_ he says playfully as he begins pulling out of the driveway, causing me to giggle.

 **Author's Note: Hey guys I have some bad news, I won't be able to update for another week or so. I still have no internet and my phone runs out of service in less than 4 hours. I would have updated on Friday but I was celebrating my birthday with some friends. Thanks for being so understanding and I hope I'll be able to update again soon.**


	8. The Party

Jake's POV

After a very long day at school and a few hours of doing a group study session, the five of us finally arrive at Ricky's house. I say five because somehow Olive had managed to coax Enoch to come with us. Don't ask me how she managed to get him to agree, because I honestly have no idea.

"You ready to go to your first party?" I ask Emma gently as we walk up the front steps of Ricky's house. The house itself is small and extremely old looking. If I didn't know any better I'd say no one had lived here for years. It looks much nicer on the inside though, so that's a plus.

"Yeah...also a little nervous" she admits bashfully, a light blush coloring her cheeks.

"Don't be it'll be fun, I promise" I say with a small grin, I reach down and take her hand in mine. I give it a reassuring squeeze and she smiles up at me shyly. Enoch groans in disgust behind us and I roll my eyes.

"Is he always like this?" I mouth to Emma.

"Yes" she mouths back with sympathy in her eyes. I internally groan and knock on the front door. Ricky opens the door and grins at us.

"Hey man! Glad you could make it!" Ricky says as he pulls me inside. I hear Victor close the door behind us as Ricky leads us down to the basement.

"The music's so loud!" I faintly hear Emma call out over the loud music as we walk down the stairs.

"Yeah. And it's very crowded in here so maybe we should stay together" I say in her ear.

"Good idea" she says, tightening her grip on my hand. We weave our way through the crowd and I lead her over to a couple of chairs in the back of the room.

"I'm gonna go mingle!" Victor says loudly as we sit down.

"Okay!" Emma and I call out, and he disappears into the crowd. A few minutes later Olive tugs a reluctant Enoch onto the dance floor.

"They'd make a good couple" I tell Emma as we watch them awkwardly dance together.

"Yeah" I hear her giggle faintly. I glance at Emma and see her looking at the dancefloor longingly.

"Would you like to dance?" I ask her curiously. She looks at me surprised and even with the multi colored lights above us I can still tell that she's blushing.

"Sure" she says shyly and I grin. I stand up and offer her my hand. She grins and takes it, I carefully pull her up and lead her to the middle of the dance floor as the song changes to _Wherever You Will Go_ by _Charlene_ _Soraia_. **(A/N: I highly recommend listening to this song while reading this, it's just perfect for Jake and Emma!)**. I put my hands on her waist and she wraps her arms around my neck.

"I'm warning you now, I'm not a very good dancer" Emma says bashfully we begin to sway to the music.

"That's alright, I'm not much of a dancer myself" I say amusedly as I playfully twirl us, causing her to giggle. She grins up at me and I'm happy to see it reach her eyes, something I haven't seen very often since I met her.

 _'S_ _he should always be this happy, she deserves it'_ I think to myself. That's when I feel a rush of determination, I'll do anything to make her this happy.

"Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?" she asks nervously, snapping me out of my thoughts. She begins to remove one of her hands from my neck, probably to try and wipe her face, but I gently grab it with my own.

"No, you just look really _really_ beautiful Em" I say reassuringly as I replace her hand on my neck. She blushes and I let out a small chuckle. She opens her mouth to say something, but I get distracted when someone taps on my shoulder. I turn my head and see Mindy, a girl from math class looking up at me shyly.

"Can I help you?" I ask curiously, wanting nothing more than to start dancing with Emma again.

"Oh um...I was wondering if you'd like to dance with me" she says seductively, puffing her chest to make her cleavage more prominent. She's wearing a very slutty dress that leaves little to the imagination, and looks like she's two seconds away from attempting to grind on me.

"No thanks, I'm a little busy right now" I say kindly, gesturing to the beautiful girl in my arms.

"Oh come on baby, forget about that little tramp and let me show you a good time. Maybe afterwards we could go upstairs and have some _fun_ " she says seductively, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Not interested, bye" I say flatly, shaking her hand off of my shoulder. She huffs and stomps away, but i couldn't care less. I look back at Emma and I see tears in her eyes.

"It's okay, go have fun with her" her voice cracks as she begins to try to pull away from me. I tighten my grip on her waist and she looks up at me pleadingly.

"I don't want to have fun with her, I want to have fun with you" I argue back. Her eyes widen and I see a little fear flash in her eyes. My eyes widen in horror when I realize what she thought I meant.

"Not that kind of _fun!_ " I say quickly, and the fear disappears.

"No I know, it just brought back some bad memories" she says quietly, looking at everything except me.

"Hey" I say quietly, removing one of my hands from her waist to gently cup her cheek. She looks up at me and I see many different emotions swimming in her eyes.

"I know what _he_ did to you...but Emma, I swear would never _ever_ do that" I say emotionally, looking right into her eyes. She searches my eyes for a few minutes, and whatever she was looking for she seems to find it, because she suddenly launches herself into my chest to hug me. I hug her back tightly and she snuggles into my embrace.

"Between you and me, I think that girl could use a reality check" I whisper in her ear, and she giggles. I gently kiss her cheek and she buries her face into my neck.

"I'll never let anything bad happen to you again, I promise" I whisper to her. Instead of giving me a verbal response she just brushes her lips against my neck, and I internally shiver.

"Would you like anything to drink?" I ask her, my voice breaking in the middle of the sentence.

"Yes please" she mumbles against my neck.

"I'll be right back" I say quietly as I pull away from her.

"Okay" I hear her murmur as I begin to walk away towards the refreshment table.

Emma's POV

I go back to the chairs we'd been sitting in a few minutes before and look around at everyone dancing to some fast song I'd never heard of.

"Well well well, look here lads this is the little tramp from Cairnholm I told you about" an eerie familiar voice says. I turn my head and see Alexander and two other guys approaching me.

"I don't want you near me" I say bravely as I quickly stand up.

"Oh come on love don't be that way, let's go upstairs and reacquaint. Maybe this time you can be face up" he says as he grabs my injured wrist.

"Let go of me" I growl as I try to pull my wrist away from him.

"Oh feisty one isn't she?" the biggest one asks Alexander amusedly.

"Just how I like my women" the other one says.

"Oh really? Would you lads like to join us? As long as I get to go first I'm fine with it" Alexander says as he begins pulling me towards the stairs.

"Let go of me!" I growl out again as I try to make him let go.

"Shut up bitch" the biggest one growls before slapping my arse, hard. I let out a small whimper and the guy laughs.

"Where's your little boyfriend now slut?" the other one asks tauntingly.

"He's right here!" I hear Jake growl somewhere behind me. Alexander freezes and I take that moment to rip myself out of his grasp.

"Get back here you bitch!" the skinnier one shouts angrily. I ignore the stinging in my wrist and run into Jake's waiting arms.

"Jake" I whimper quietly, clinging onto him desperately. He tightens his arms around my waist protectively.

"Shhh it's alright I'm here sweetheart" he whispers comfortingly in my ear. We look into each others eyes and Jake lightly rubs his nose against mine. Alexander coughs behind me and I see Jake's eyes harden as he looks up and glares at the three guys in front of us.

"Excuse me we weren't finished!" the biggest one growls as he makes a move to grab me. Jake growls and pushes me behind him.

"Well that's too bad, my girlfriend and I are leaving _n_ _ow"_ He growls protectively.

"I have to say I don't blame you for not wanting to share,that slut felt so tight around me two years ago. I crave to feel that again" Alexander says lustfully as he glances at me from behind Jake's shoulder. I shiver and scoot to the side so I'm completely hidden behind Jake.

"That's it!" Jake roars as he storms towards Alexander. The two goons try to get to me but Jake punches them both repeatedly in the face until they fall to the ground writhing in pain. He pins Alexander to the brick wall in front of the bottom of the stairs and I see fear in Alexander's eyes.

"Let me tell you something you fucking bastard! That girl is mine and I don't share what's mine! And you are so damn lucky that I didn't know Emma two years ago, if I did you wouldn't have been able to walk away with only six months of jail time!" Jake shouts in his face.

"Let go of-" Alexander tries to demand.

"Shut up!" Jake roars, causing all of the talking and the music in the room to stop.

"If you ever _ever_ come near her again I will make you wish you were still in jail! And she doesn't want you so don't even bother trying to talk to her! She has me, a real man in her life now" Jake growls.

"I am a-" Alexander tries to growl before Jake puts one of his hands around his throat, cutting him off.

"A coward! You are nothing but a god damn coward! How the hell do you live with yourself? Rising yourself up by tormenting a beautiful young lady!" Jake growls.

"A real man would treat a girl like her, any girl for that matter, with only the highest respect and kindness! A real man would protect his girl from monsters, not become a monster and take advantage of her when she was defenseless! Don't try to say I'm not a real man either because if it comes down to a competition _you will lose"_ he continues, putting emphasis on the last three words. I feel a hand on my shoulder and jump.

"Emma it's just me" Victor says reassuringly as he rubs my shoulder. I turn my head and see Olive and Enoch watching me protectively.

"What on earth is going on here? Jake who are these guys?" Ricky asks as he breaks through the crowd, causing the four of us turn our attention back to the scene before us.

"This bastard is the guy I told you about back at the punch bowl" Jake growls.

"The one that hurt Emma? Well then it's time to take out the trash!" Ricky says as he shoves the two guys off of the floor and against the bottom of the steps. Jake removes his hands from Alexander's neck and shoves him down on top of his friends.

"Get out of my house!" Ricky demands.

"But-" the biggest one tries to protest.

"You heard him, get out! Victor growls and he and Enoch move towards them. The three of them gulp and scramble up the stairs, with Ricky,Enoch, and Victor on their tails. Jake turns to me and opens his arms, and that's all it takes for me to rush into his arms and wrap my arms around his neck. I sob into his sweater and he just nuzzles his face into my shoulder as he rubs my back soothingly.

"I never should've left you alone, I'm so sorry" he mumbles. I try to speak but the words refuse to come out, so instead all I do is lift my head slightly and kiss his neck. I sniffle and he lets go of my waist. He cups my face and looks down at me, worry in his eyes.

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" he asks worriedly as he wipes away my tears.

"Alexander hurt my wrist a little, and the biggest one um" I stop myself, not sure of how he'd react.

"What? Tell me what he did Em" he orders gently.

"He um...he slapped my arse" I whisper so only he could hear.

"I'll kill that bastard!" he growls as he lets go of me. He begins to move away from me but I grab his wrist gently. He turns to me and I see anger and hate in his eyes.

"Please stay with me" I quietly plead, and his eyes soften.

"C'mere" he says gently, wrapping his free arm around my shoulders. I snuggle close to him and he turns to look at Olive, who is walking towards us.

"C'mon I'm taking you guys home" he says to us, and we both nod. The three of us go upstairs and run into the boys in the hallway.

"I'm taking them home" Jake tells Ricky, gesturing to the four of us. Ricky nods understandingly and Jake leads us to the car. The drive home is silent, no one had anything to say.

"I'll see you tomorrow Em" Jake says softly as we stop in front of the door. The others had gone inside a few minutes ago.

"Can't you stay the night?" I ask pleadingly.

"I don't have any clothes with me Em" he says quietly. I feel my face fall and he frowns slightly.

"See you tomorrow" I say quietly, beginning to turn to open the door. He takes my hand and I begin to turn my face to ask him what he's doing, but get cut off from his lips connecting with mine. I moan against his lips and he deepens the kiss slightly.

"Goodnight Em" he whispers against my lips.

"Goodnight Jake" I whisper, a small smile on my lips. He kisses my forehead once before walking to his car. I go inside and wave at him through the window. He waves back with a grin on his face before getting into his car and driving away.

 _'Boy what a night'_ I think to myself as I begin going upstairs to go to bed.


	9. One Less Lonely Girl

Emma's POV

It's been a week since Jake and I kissed, and the tension between us is unbearable.

 _'Does he regret kissing me?'_ I ask myself worriedly. I glance at him from my spot beside him at one of the many tables in the cafeteria. He's smiling and laughing at something Enoch said, those two have really started getting along this past week. At least one good thing came out of this week.

 _"Attention students! Please make your way into the gymnasium for a special pep rally"_ Miss Finch calls through the intercom. We all begin getting up and I notice Jake isn't walking with us.

"You coming?" I ask curiously. He gives me a small grin and takes a few steps towards me.

"I'll catch up with you guys in a minute, i have to do something first" he says sweetly as he wraps an arm around my shoulder to give me a one armed hug.

"I'll go with you" I say hopefully, leaning against his shoulder.

"No! I mean no, go catch up to the others. I'll catch up in a minute I promise" he says quickly, looking down at me. I could see something swimming in his eyes, but I couldn't place it.

"Oh okay" I say reluctantly. He grins at me and kisses my forehead.

"Go on" he says playfully, sliding his hand off of my shoulder and onto my back. I giggle as he playfully pushes me forward and exit the room.

"Hey where's Jake?" Olive asks me curiously as I sit next to her the bottom step of the bleachers on the left side of the room.

"He said he'd catch up in a minute, he had to do something first" I tell her. She nods and we watch as the bleachers get filled up on both sides of the room. The principal Mr. Bentham makes his way to the center of the room carrying a chair in one hand, and a microphone in the other. He puts the chair down so everyone gets a side view of the chair on both sides of the room.

"Attention everyone! Would Emma Bloom please come and sit down here?" Mr. Bentham says into the microphone, gesturing to the chair. My heart stops and I feel nervousness overwhelm me. Olive looks at me in confusion and I shrug my shoulders, I have no idea what's going on. I stand up and shakily make my way to the center of the room.

"Please sit my dear" Mr. Bentham says kindly. I sit in the chair and feel my leg bouncing up and down, a habit that occurs when I'm nervous.

"Alright! To get this pep rally started we have a special treat for all of you! One of our own students will be performing momentarily, young man when you're ready you may begin" Mr. Bentham says as he makes his way to the bleachers and sits down. Suddenly music begins to play and I look around to see everyone looking around the room curiously.

"Alright, let's go there's gonna be one less lonely girl _(one less lonely girl)_ one less lonely girl _(one less lonely girl)"_ my favorite voice sings out through the speakers around the room. Suddenly I see Jake slowly making his way out from behind the bleachers on the left side of the room. He's smiling brightly at me and I see that he's holding something behind his back. In his other hand he's holding a microphone in front of him.

"There's gonna be one less lonely girl _(one less lonely girl)_ one less lonely girl" he continues to sing looking only at me. I look around and see that Victor, Olive and Enoch are just as surprised as me. I look back at Jake and see him making his way to me.

"How many I told you's and start overs and shoulders have you cried on before? How many promises be honest girl? How many tears you let hit the floor?" he sings out and I feel tears prick my eyes.

"How many bags you packed just to take 'em back tell me that, how many either or's _(but no more)_ if you let me inside of your world there'd be the one less lonely girl" he sings and I hear many girls 'awww' around the room.

"Saw so many pretty faces _(before I saw you you)_ " he gestures to the bleachers around the room as he sings this line, but his eyes never meet mine. He kneels down in front of as he finishes singing this bit. I feel my tears slide down my cheeks and I see nothing but love and adoration in his eyes.

"Now all I see is you, I'm coming for you _(I'm coming for you)_ no no don't need these other pretty faces like I need you" He removes his arm from behind his back and I see that he's holding a dozen beautiful red roses out to me. I shakily reach out and take the flowers, I look at them and notice a note tied around the stems. I pick it up and feel happiness overtake me. On the note is just two simple words, **Be Mine? xoxo**. I look back at Jake and see him looking at me hopefully as he takes one of my hands in his and continues to sing.

"And when you're mine in the world there's gonna be one less lonely girl _I'm coming for you)_ one less lonely girl _(I'm coming for you)_ one less lonely girl _(I'm coming for you)_ one less lonely girl _(I'm coming for you) t_ here's gonna be one less lonely girl _(I'm coming for you)_ " he kisses my hand before he continues to sing, causing me to blush.

"I'm gonna put you first _(I'm coming for you)_ I'll show you what you're worth _(that's what I'm gonna do)_ if you let me inside your world there's gonna be one less lonely girl" he strokes the back of my hand while he sings this and I sniffle. I put the hand he's holding on his cheek and he leans into my touch.

 _'I love you'_ is practically written in his eyes.

' _I love you too'_ I mouth, and his entire face lights up. I giggle and he seems to remember that he's holding a microphone.

"Christmas wasn't merry, fourteenth of February,not one of 'em spent with you, how many dinner dates set dinner plates and he didn't even touch his food, how many torn photographs are you taping back tell me that, couldn't see an open door but no more if you let me inside of your world there'll be one less lonely girl" He takes his hand off of mine and places it on my knee.

"Saw so many pretty faces _(before I saw you you) n_ ow all I see is you I'm coming for you, I'm coming for you, no no don't need these other pretty faces like I need you and when your mine in this world there's gonna be one less lonely girl _(I'm coming for_ _you)_ " he lightly pats my knee and I stroke his cheek as he continues to sing. He then reaches up and wipes away the long forgotten tears from my cheeks.

"I'm gonna put you first _(I'm coming for you)_ I'll show you what you're worth _(that's what I'm gonna do)_ if you let me inside of your world there's gonna be on less lonely girl" he reaches into his jacket pocket as he sings this and I see a little nervousness in his eyes.

"I can fix up your broken heart _(heart)_ I can give you a brand new start _(start)_ Ican make you believe _(yeah)_ I just wanna set one girl free to fall, free to fall _(she's free to fall) f_ all in love with me" he looks around at everyone on the bleachers and I turn my head to see Olive smiling at us with tears in hear eyes, Victor with a big grin on his face, and Enoch with his trademark smirk.

"Her hearts locked and nowhere to get the key,I'll take her and leave the world with one less lonely girl" he pulls a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and I look at it curiously. He holds out the piece of paper and I take my hand off his cheek to take it.

"One less lonely girl _(I'm coming for you)_ one less lonely girl, there's gonna be one less lonely girl _(I'm coming for you)"_ I unfold the piece of paper and it says **Will you go out with me? Check Yes or No**. He takes out a pen and gives it to me.

"I'm gonna put you first _(I'm coming for you)_ I'll show you what you're worth _(that's what I'm gonna do)_ if you let me inside your world there's gonna be on less lonely girl, only you Emma" he finishes, and I already know my answer.

"Yes!" I say excitedly before launching myself into his chest. He grins and wraps his arms around me as my unexpected pounce pushes him backwards. I land on top of him and that's when I notice that everyone on the bleachers is laughing at our little encounter. I put the flowers down next to us and press my lips against his. He kisses me back eagerly and sits up.

"Yes?" he whispers hopefully against my lips.

"Yes!" I giggle before hugging him. I hugs me back tightly and I nuzzle my face into his neck.

"I'm sorry I've been so distant, I didn't want my plan to be spoiled" he says regretfully into my hair.

"It's okay" I mumble, brushing my lips against his neck.

"C'mon" he says quietly, carefully pushing me off of him so he can get up. He takes my hand with one of his and grabs the flowers with the other. That's when I notice that everyone is clapping and cheering.

"I think we just made their day" Jake says amusedly as someone wolf whistles.

"It would seem so" I giggle.

"C'mere you" he says playfully, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me to him. I giggle louder and he tickles my stomach with his free hand.

"J-Jake stop" I manage to beg through my giggles.

"What's the magic word?" he asks me playfully as his tickles me faster.

"P-please" I gasp out through my giggles, and he stops.

"There, now was that so hard?" he asks playfully, letting me go.

"That's it I'm breaking up with you!" I say annoyed, crossing my arms and turning away from him.

"Awww come on Em, I was just kidding" he pleads, moving in front of me.

"Hmph" is all I respond with as I turn my head away.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, please forgive me" he pleads as he cups my chin, and turns my face to look at him. I try to control my poker face, but my control breaks when he begins kissing my cheeks and my forehead.

"Fine" I grumble and he chuckles before hugging me.

"Whipped!" I hear Enoch shout. Jake turns his head and looks at our friends.

"And you aren't?" he calls out incredulously, causing Enoch to blush and bury his face into Olive's hair. They'd gotten together two days ago.

"Alright lover boy let's go" I say amusedly, pulling him towards the bleachers. We sit down next to our friends and then Jake slightly jumps as if remembering something.

"Oh I almost forgot!" he says holding up the flowers.

"For you M'lady" he says sweetly, holding them out to me. I giggle and take the flowers, I hold them up to my nose and take a big whiff of their sweet scent.

"They're beautiful Jake" I say happily, grinning at him.

"Not as beautiful as you" he says sweetly as he wraps his arm around my shoulder. He kisses my forehead and I sigh in contentment. I am one lucky girl.

 **A/N: Hey guys, I just wanted to let all of you know that the rating for this story might be changed to M in future chapters, so keep an eye out. And thanks so much for all of the reviews, you guys are all amazing and I am very grateful. And I'd also like to thank SingingTomatoMPHFPC for helping me out when I had writers block, and for being my source of entertainment every time I'm bored :P**


	10. Jake's Secret

Jake's POV

"Jake" Emma giggles as she tries to squirm from my tickling fingers. We've been dating for a week and I couldn't be happier. We're currently at my house, and we had been watching the live action Cinderella. But now I have her pinned underneath me on the living room couch while I tickle her stomach and kiss her cheeks.

"Say it!" I playfully demand as I continue to assault her with tickles.

"No!" she exclaims through her giggles.

"Say it!" I playfully insist as I begin tickling her faster.

"Okay okay! you're ten times hotter than prince Kit!" she squeals. I chuckle and stop tickling her, but I keep my hands on her waist.

"Good" I chuckle, kissing her cheek. She huffs in annoyance but I can see that she's fighting to hold back a grin.

"But on a more serious note, can we _please_ watch a different movie? I will gladly watch anything else you pick" I plead, giving her a small pout. If I've learned anything this past week, it's that Emma cannot say no to me when I'm pouting. Just like I can never say no to her when she does it. That's what got us watching this blasted movie in the first place. Don't get me wrong I like the movie, I really do, but there's only so much of my girlfriend going on and on about how dreamy the prince is I can take.

"Okay" she sighs dramatically, getting up and taking the DVD out of the player. She puts it back in it's case and goes over to the giant bookcase of movies next to the TV. She browses for a moment and seems to find one she's interested in. She takes it of the shelf and gasps in shock when she sees the cover. She looks over at me with her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.

"What's wrong?" I ask her concerned, I get up and walk over to her. I look down at the case and my own eyes widen.

 _'Oh come on! Out of all of the movies on this damn case she had to pick this one'_ I internally curse.

"What's this?" she asks me curiously, gesturing to the case in her hands. I gulp nervously and look down at it, my own eyes staring back at me.

"Well um..." is all I manage to stutter out nervously.

"Jake" she says softly, putting her hand on my cheek. I look into her eyes and all I see is pure kindness, and worry in her eyes. I take a deep breath and close my eyes to try and get my thoughts together, it's time to tell her the truth about my own past. Even if it is something I swore to myself years ago that I would never speak of again. I open my eyes and look down at Emma, and I feel my stomach tie into knots because of how nervous I am.

"You should sit down" I say nervously.

"Okay" she says confusedly, taking her hand off of my cheek and going to sit down on the couch.

"Look um...there's something I need to tell you, I should have told you this before I asked you out but I was really _really_ scared" I start to explain shakily.

"Jake you're scaring me" she says nervously.

Emma's POV

Jake looks away from me as soon as I say that, and I can practically see the wheels turning in his head. He's trying to figure out how to get out what ever he's trying to tell me. He takes a deep shaky breath and looks at me, and for the first time since I'd met him I see fear in his eyes. He's afraid, for some reason I don't understand.

"Look I um...before I begin to explain that" he says while gesturing to the case in my hand. I look down at the case and am greeted with Jake's familiar blue eyes staring back at me. The words _'Ender's Game'_ written on the top of the case.

"I just...I need you to understand that this was my past, and that no matter what I'm still the guy that you've known for three weeks, I'm still the same old Jake that's your friend" he says calmly, but in his eyes tell a different story. I see desperation pooling in them, he wants no he _needs_ me to understand what he's trying to get at.

"I understand" I say calmly, I may not understand fully, but I can tell that this is what he needs to hear in order to give him that little encouraging push.

"Emma...I'm Asa Butterfield" he chokes out. My eyes widen and I'm pretty sure I must look like a fish right now considering how wide open my mouth is.

"Wait wait...what?" I say confusedly after a few minutes.

"When I was a child my parents were grooming me to be the perfect movie star son, so they started taking me to auditions for films...the only way I agreed to do it is if I used an alias so I could still live a semi normal life when I wasn't being in films" he begins to explain. I sit there in shock trying to process what he just said. He's an actor? Why didn't he tell me?

"Being an actor since I was young isn't something I'm proud of, so three years ago after _Ender's Game_ was released onto DVD I had my agent terminate my contract" he says quietly, not looking at me.

"Jake!" I gasp out shocked, I can't believe he'd just walked away from acting just like that.

"My parents, more specifically my mother, were not happy about my decision...but by the time they'd found out, it was too late. I'd already seen my agent and he got it taken care of. There was nothing they could do" he continues, he looks up at me and I could see in his eyes he wanted to just disappear.

"Jake" I whisper, putting the case down on the coffee table.

"Emma please... I need to finish this" he says desperately, and I nod quickly. I don't want to scare him into shutting me out.

"The reason I didn't tell you about any of this sooner...I was scared. The last time I tried becoming close to someone, tried being in a relationship... it ended badly" he says shakily before covering his face with his hands.

 _'He's been in a relationship before?'_ I think to myself. I know it shouldn't surprise me, but part of me had still hoped that I was his first.

"What happened?" I ask curiously. I really want to know, whatever happened obviously got him really shaken up about trying to date someone...or even be close to someone for that matter.

"We worked together in a film when we were younger, in _Nanny McPhee and the_ _Big_ _Bang_ , we'd kept in contact after it was over and three and a half years ago we'd started dating" he stops himself to wipe his eyes. I could see that what ever happened between them really affected him emotionally.

"Things were great at first...at least I thought they were" he says emotionally.

"Then on our six month anniversary she pulled me aside and told me she cheated on me, that she was only with me for the money and publicity" he scoffs angrily, and I gasp in horror. How could she hurt him like that? Didn't she know how lucky she'd been to have him?

"She left me for the other guy...and a few months later I ended my acting career" he says quietly.

"She was one of the reasons you didn't want to act anymore" I realize.

"I never told my parents about why we broke up, I just wanted a clean break. I wanted to start fresh and focus on being a teenager, making friends,going to school and having fun" he says honestly, and he looks down at the ground. Before I could even open my mouth to try and console him, he begins to speak again.

"So I went back to being plain ol' Jacob Portman. I swore to myself that I would never talk about my acting career again, and that I wouldn't open myself up enough to get hurt again" he says nonchalantly.

"Jake you're not boring" I say softly, getting up and walking over to him.

"Compared to my alias I am" he says doubtfully.

"I don't love Asa Butterfield, I don't care about him. I love Jacob Portman, I love _you"_ I say firmly looking up at him.

Jake's POV

She.. she loves me? Emma Bloom, the most amazing girl I have ever had the pleasure of meeting... loves me back. I swore I would never fall in love ever again, that plan flew out the window when I met her. Being with her is different than it was when I was with Lil...it's more loving and it feels right. I never felt the way I feel when I'm with Emma when I was with Lil. When I was with Lil it felt like she was nervous to be seen with me in public, she didn't like it when I tried being affectionate. Emma on the other hand loves being near me no matter what the location is, and she loves it when I kiss her on the cheek or hold her hand in public, she loves any small sign of affection I give her. And she loves giving me little signs of affection, something Lil never did. Emma makes me want to be myself and not try to be someone I'm not. She makes me feel special, like I'm the light of her life.

"I love you too" I say out loud for the first time in almost four years. My eyes tear up and I rest my forehead against hers.

"I understand why you didn't tell me any of this sooner, and I just want you to know that I will never ever do that to you" she whispers.

"You know how I said that I wouldn't open myself up enough to get hurt again? Well I also swore that I'd never fall in love again, and that one changed recently" I say softly, getting lost in her beautiful eyes.

"When did that last one change?" she asks curiously.

"That plan flew out the window when I met you" I whisper as I leans in slightly. Her breath hitches just before our lips meet and I close my eyes, allowing myself to get lost in the feeling of loving again, and being loved in return.

"I love you Jake" Emma whispers against my lips before kissing me again. I wrap my arms around her and carry her to the couch. She squeals against my lips as I set her down and carefully hold myself up above her.

"Say that again" I say hopefully and she giggles.

"I love you Jacob Portman" she says before grabbing a fistful of my hair and pulling my lips back to hers. I moan against her lips and carefully cup her cheek in my right hand, and hold myself up with my left.

"I love you too Emma Bloom" I whisper against her lips before I gently kiss her cheek and nuzzle my face against her neck. She sighs and I feel her gently play with a few strands of my hair on the back of my neck.

"That girl was an idiot to throw away the best thing to ever happen to her" Emma mumbles and I chuckle.

"I thought the exact same thing when Claire mentioned Alexander for the first time" I say quietly, and for a few seconds she freezes underneath me. I move my head away from her neck to look at her and open my mouth to apologize but she relaxes underneath me.

"I think we should forget about our bad relationships and just focus on us. We can't let them have that power over us" Emma says softly, looking up at me with a small smile on her lips.

"I like that idea" I say sweetly before leaning in and lightly kissing her on the lips.

 **A/N: Hey guys! This chapter is just an idea I've been thinking of for a while. I think it gives Jake a little more background and he's able to show Emma that she's not the only one with skeletons in her closet. But please feel free to PM me or leave a review on your thoughts about this. Once again thank you for all of the support :D**


	11. Money Trouble

Jake's POV

"So what is Asa like?" Emma asks curiously after about twenty minutes if cuddling on the couch.

"Well...he's British so more often than not he sounds like this" I say playfully, transitioning to a British accent after the first three words.

"Have I ever mentioned how sexy you sound with a British accent?" she asks me, looking up from her spot on my chest.

"No, but it's still nice hear" I say playfully as I lightly rub her back.

"Good" she says sweetly before sitting up on my lap. I wrap my arms around her gently and she puts her hands in my shoulders.

"I could get used to this" I sigh contently.

"You better, I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon mister" she says playfully, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Neither am I" I say sweetly, pulling her closer to me.

"Good. No other girls can have you, you're mine Portman" she says hotly.

"Do I detect a little jealousy?" I say playfully and she grumbles.

"It's alright love, it's adorable. And don't worry I'm all yours, just like you're all mine" I say lovingly, leaning up and nuzzling my nose against hers.

"Oh Jake" she sighs, lightly kissing the tip of my nose.

"I love it when you let out your inner sass babe. There's just something about seeing your feisty side that does something to me" I say playfully.

"Good, I wanna keep you on your toes" she says amusedly.

"I wouldn't expect anything less" I say grinning.

"Good" is all she says before lightly pecking me on the lips. We stay like that for a few minutes before I remember something.

"Fuck" I groan in annoyance.

"What? What is it?" she asks me confusedly.

"My parents come home tomorrow" I say sourly.

"Oh" she says with a small frown.

"Yeah, after I ended my acting career they started going on 'business trips' as often as they could, for as long as they could" I say bitterly. Emma looks down at me with sadness in her eyes.

"They say they're for meetings for the family business, but I know the truth. They just want to be as far away from me as possible, their disappointment of a son" I finish angrily. Emma cups my face in her hands and makes me look straight at her.

"Your parents are fools, you are in no way, shape, or form a disappointment. You are amazing" she says firmly before kissing my jaw. I instantly calm down and sit up, and engulf her in a warm embrace.

"As long as I know that that is what you think of me, I couldn't care less about how anyone else feels" I say softly, nuzzling my face into her shoulder. She lets out a happy sigh and buries her face into my neck. She plays with a few of the curls resting on the back of my neck, and then it's my turn to let out a sigh.

"I wish we could stay like this forever" Emma mumbles, her voice slightly muffled.

"Me too sweetheart, me too" I whisper gently before moving my head and kissing her jaw.

"Can I ask you something?" she asks after a couple minutes of comfortable silence.

"Of course!" I say while pulling away slightly to be able to look at her.

"If you had the chance, would you ever go back to your acting career?" she asks me curiously, and my eyes widen. I'd thought about that a couple of times the past three years, but they were very brief.

"I..I think I'd possibly give it another go, I enjoyed it quite a bit, especially meeting new people. It was fun joking around with my cast mates and directors, especially when we messed up on our lines" I chuckle amusedly, remembering the countless times I'd stumbled over my lines when I was in 'Hugo'.

"What's so funny?" she asks curiously, giving me an amused grin.

"It's nothing, just some memories of goofing around on set during one of the films I was in" I say amusedly.

"One of them? How many films were you in?" she asks amazed. I silently make a check list and go over it twice to make sure I've counted correctly.

"Eight" I say nonchalantly.

"Eight!" she repeats amazed. I chuckle at her dumbstruck expression.

"YeahI know that's a lot to take in...sorry" I say apologetically.

"No no it's not that! It's just that...I feel really bad because I haven't seen any of my boyfriend's films" she says bashfully.

"Tell you what, how about sometime this week we have a movie day just the two of us. We'll watch all of them together and I'll give you the inside scoop about what it was like on set" I propose. She seems to think it over, although I already knew what her answer would be.

"Sounds perfect!" she says happily.

"Good. Now C'mon let's go to your house, I wanna play some ball with Millard and Hugh" I say playfully while carefully pushing her off of me.

"My own boyfriend loves my brothers more than he loves me" Emma says pouting.

"Aww C'mon baby you know that's not true" I say lovingly, pulling her into a hug. She huffs in annoyance and I chuckle.

"Promise me that we'll have alone time again soon" she murmurs into my shirt.

"I promise" I whisper before kissing her forehead. I look over at the clock and see that it's 2:45 pm, I had picked Emma up at 11 so we could have some alone time.

"Let's go hun" I say sweetly as I get up and hold my hand out to her.

"Such a gentleman" she giggles as she takes my hand. I pull her up and grab my keys from the coffee table. Emma turns off the TV and we exit the house. I lock it up and go over to the passenger side of my car. I open the door for Emma and she grins at me.

"Thank you love" she giggles before kissing my cheek and getting in the car. I feel my cheeks heat up and she giggles again.

"You're very welcome" I say bashfully before closing the door. I get in the drivers side and start the car while Emma opens the garage door. I pull out of the garage and she closes the doors again. The car ride is filled with light flirting and jokes, and before we know it we're parked right outside the house. I see that all of the children are playing in the yard and grin.

"Go on ahead and join them Em, I'm going to get a glass of water" I say as we get out of the car.

"Okay" she says before pecking me on the lips. I watch her walk away for a few seconds with a big grin on my face before walking up the porch steps. When Emma and I had started dating Miss Peregrine told me I could just let myself in when I come over. I open the door and walk inside. I hear the faint sound of someone sobbing and realize it's Miss Peregrine. I quietly close the door and walk towards the sound, that's when I realize it's coming from the dining room. I peak my head in slightly and see her in her usual spot at the table crying surrounded by tones of papers in front of her. That's when I also realize she's on the phone.

"I don't know what to do Esmeralda, I got fired only two weeks ago and already the bills are piling up" she sobs and my eyes widen.

 _'She lost her job?'_ I think to myself sadly. Miss Peregrine was a work from home journalist for the newspaper.

"What if the children get taken away?" she sobs out, burying her face in her free arm.

 _'Emma and the others could possibly get taken away?'_ I think panicked. I carefully back away from the doorway and retreat to the front porch. There's no way I'm going to let that happen, I'm not going to allow this family to be split apart and have the children separated.

' _What should I do? How can I help fix thi-'_ I begin to think to myself before cutting myself off. Of course, why didn't I think of this sooner? When I first started my acting career my agent Ransom Riggs set up a bank account for me, all of the money I made from the films I was in went into that account. My parents aren't able to touch it, only Riggs has access to it. I'm supposed to get full access of it when I turn 17, but I know that I can't wait that long. I quickly dial his number and wait impatiently for him to pick up.

"Hello?" he says confusedly.

"Hey Riggs, it's Jacob Portman" I say calmly.

"Oh hello Jake? What can I do for you?" He asks me cheerily

"I need a favor, you know that account you set up for me? Well I need access to it, it's an emergency" I say urgently.

"Can I ask why?" he asks curiously.

"My girlfriend and her family are at risk of losing everything they have, please Riggs I can't let that happen" I say desperately.

"You have a girlfriend? That's wonderful! Congratulations Jake!" he exclaims, and I have to hold my phone away from my ear because it was so loud.

"Shhh! Thanks Riggs but can you please do this for me?" I ask desperately.

"Don't you worry buddy I'll handle it! In a few hours I'll send you a text to let you know it's all set" he says reassuringly.

"Thanks Riggs you're the best" I say gratefully.

""Bye Jake" he says amusedly before hanging up. I put my phone back in my pocket and begin walking to the backyard where all of the children have relocated to. Emma looks over when she hears me begin to approach. She grins and runs over to me, I wrap my arms around her waist and pick her up off the ground a little.

"Well hello to you too love" I say amusedly, nuzzling my face into her hair.

"What took you so long?" she asks before kissing my jaw.

 _'I love it when she does that'_ I think to myself as I kiss the top of her head.

"Sorry love I made a quick stop to the restroom" I say apologetically, my stomach twists in knots in guilt for lying to her. I don't want her and the others to panic, because based on how no one had mentioned Miss Peregrine lost her job I'd say non of them know.

"Oh okay" is all she says before she takes my hand and pulls me over to the others.

"Come play ball with us Jake!" Millard says excitedly as Emma releases my hand. He grabs my wrist and begins pulling me over to where Hugh and Horace are waiting.

"Okay okay" I chuckle as Hugh puts the ball on the ground. Horace goes over to a small tree and sits down with his back against it, I guess he's the referee. After about two rounds of playing I notice that Miss Peregrine is off to the side watching us with a smile on her face. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she'd never been crying. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket and figure it must be Riggs texting me to let me know I'm all set.

"Hey you guys go on ahead without me" I tell the boys as I give Millard the ball.

"Are you alright?" Emma asks me worriedly.

"My stomach hurts, I'll be right back" I groan, adding a wince hoping that she'll buy it.

"Okay, I hope you feel better soon though" she says sadly, rubbing my shoulder.

"I hope so too" I groan before walking to the front of the house. Once I know I'm in the clear I run into the house and see the bills still there on the kitchen table. After about fifteen minutes 'Asa Butterfield' has officially paid all of the bills and then some for Miss Peregrine's home. I put all of the bills back in the order I found them and walk out of the house. I walk calmly to the backyard and Emma looks at me in concern.

"Are you alright?" she asks me worriedly as I stop right beside her.

"Yeah, I think the eggs I ate before i came to pick you up were bad" I say quietly, putting my hand over my stomach for emphasis.

"My poor baby" she says sympathetically before kissing my cheek, causing me to blush slightly. If this is how she acts when I act like I'm 'sick' I can't wait to see how she acts when I really don't feel well. I wrap my arms around her, feeling joy that I was able to do something to help my girl and her family.


	12. A Trip Down Memory Lane

Jake's POV

A few hours later Miss Peregrine calls everyone in for supper and we all rush inside and are greeted with the smell of turkey. My mouth practically waters as we enter the kitchen and see the table filled with two turkeys, bowls of mashed potatoes, squash,and gravy.

 _'looks like Thanksgiving has come early'_ I think to myself amusedly as I move to take a seat and bump right into Emma.

"Oops sorry about that Ella" I say apologetically as we sit down. The noise stops and my eyes widen when I realize my mistake. I look up and see everyone staring at me in shock and surprise. I turn to Emma and see nothing but pure hurt in her eyes.

"Who's Ella?" I hear Fiona asks me curiously, but I don't take my eyes away from Emma's.

"I am so _so_ sorry Emma, it just slipped out" I say apologetically.

"Who is Ella?" Emma asks me, her voice strangely calm, which honestly scares me more than it would if she was yelling.

"She's um...she's a childhood friend of mine actually, and she lives in London" I say awkwardly.

"That doesn't explain why you called me by her name" she says in the same monotonous voice.

"You look a lot like her, well there are a few obvious differences but other than that you look just like her" I say awkwardly. Emma's calm expression melts away and looks like she's about to cry.

"Is she one of your acting buddies?" she asks, her voice cracking slightly.

"Yes" I murmur.

"Wait what?" Olive asks me confusedly. I internally groan and turn to face the others.

"I didn't want you guys to find out like this, but I used to be an actor. I've been in eight films and 3 years ago I walked away from my acting career" I say quietly, looking down at the table.

"Ha! Nice try Portman" Enoch chuckles amusedly. Instead of giving him a verbal response I take out my phone and look up 'Asa Butterfield' and show it to them. They all gasp when they see pictures of me and the list of films I'd been in.

"Wow" is all Enoch says as he looks at the screen in amazement.

"Why does it say your name is Asa Butterfield?" Bronwyn asks me curiously.

"That was the alias I went by, I wanted to be able to have a semi normal life when I wasn't filming. The world knows Asa Butterfield, Jacob Portman on the other hand is under the radar" I say amusedly, remembering how I heard a few girls talking about my altar ego a few years ago, when I'd first given up acting.

"As far as the media is concerned Asa Butterfield is a British actor that lives somewhere in England" I continue.

"What does Ella look like?" Emma asks, her voice cracking.

 _'Oh fuck! I almost forgot'_ I silently scold myself. I go to my photo gallery and scroll through it until I find a picture of Ella and myself that I'd taken last summer when she'd had me visit her in London. In the picture my arm is around her shoulders and we're both smiling. I'm also wearing my black glasses in the picture. I show the picture to Emma and she gasps in disbelief, I show the others the picture and they all react the same way. I look at Emma and remember the ray I first met her, and his I'd almost mistaken her for my best friend.

 _*Flashback*_

 _I'm walking over to my locker and suddenly a girl backs into me. She turns around to look at me and I almost let out a whoop of excitement. My best friend Ella is standing in front of me! But the longer I look at her the more I realize that she isn't Ella. Ella has tan skin, dark brown hair, and chocolate brown eyes. The girl in front of me has beautiful smokey grey eyes, blonde shoulder length hair, and beautiful pale skin. The next thing I noticed it the terror in her eyes._

 _"Please don't hurt me" she begs as she turns to look at me._

 _"Woah easy there, what's wrong?" I ask gently, raising my hands in surrender. Footsteps begin to approach us and the beautiful girl in front of me lets out a little squeak before moving closer to me._ _I look behind her slightly and see Clark and his buddies Peter and Johnny stalking towards us. I don't like the way they're looking at her, not one bit. I glare at them and that makes them freeze for only a second._

 _"I'll handle this don't worry" I say reassuringly as I gently push her behind me. I don't know who this girl is, but I'm not about to let those neanderthals mess with her._

 _"Back off Portman she's ours!" Clark demands._

 _"How about no? It seems to me she wants you three to leave her alone Clark" I growl as I move my arm back slightly, in case on of them decides to try to get at her._

 _"Stand aside!" Peter growls as he begins to move forward._

 _"Or what? Are you gonna hit me? Go ahead, but if you do you know coach Johnson will kick you off of the team for a few games. Which means, no Playoffs" l scoff tauntingly. Peter growls and Clark and Johnny look at him worriedly._

 _"What ever, that bitch isn't worth it" Peter grumbles as he stalks off, Clark and Johnny close behind him._

 _"I'm sorry about them" I apologize as i turn to face my best friend's doppelganger. I cock my head to the side slightly and give her a small smile._

 _"T-thank you" she stutters out shyly and my smile widens._

 _"You're welcome" I say gently as I walk over to a bag that I assume is hers. I pick it up and walk back over to her. I hold it out to her and she gives me a grateful smile as she takes it. I begin to get lost in her eyes before I suddenly remember that I haven't introduced myself._

 _"My name's Jake by the way" I say sweetly._

 _"I'm E-Emma" she stutters shyly. Emma, a beautiful name for a beautiful girl._

 _"Well then Emma, may I see your schedule?" I ask her kindly, giving her a small smile. She smiles back at me and gets her schedule out of her bag and holds it out to me. I take it and look at it for a few seconds, my smile widens as I scan it._

 _"Sweet, we have all of the same classes" I say happily as I give her schedule back to her. I'm looking forward to getting to know this girl, she seems very sweet. I think we'll make good friends. There's also something special about her that's drawing me in, and it's not the fact that she looks like my best friend._

 _"C-cool" she says with a small grin forming. Suddenly the bell rings and she looks up at me._

 _"It would be my pleasure to escort you to class Miss Bloom" I say with a British accent, holding my arm out for her, remembering her name from seeing it on her schedule.. I haven't spoken with a British accent in a long time._

 _"Why thank you Mister Portman" she grins as she takes my arm , probably remembering what Clark had called me.I let out a small laugh and begin leading her to class. I'm looking forward to getting to know this beautiful girl, Emma Bloom my enigma._

 _*Flashback Ends*_

"Jake? Jake" Emma calls out at she waves her hand in front of my face. I snap out of my thoughts and give her a small smile, before seeing a small amount of hurt still in her eyes.

"C'mere" I say gently as I lean in and gently wrap my arms around her. I feel her shaking slightly and decide it would be better if we talked about this in private.

"May we be excused?" I ask Miss Peregrine politely.

"Of course" she says understandingly. I pull away and take Emma's hand, I help her stand up and lead her upstairs. We go into her room and I close the door while Emma goes and sits on the foot of her bed. I kneel on the floor in front of her but she doesn't look up from her lap. My heart breaks when I see her begin to shake again.

"Emma? Sweetheart please look at me" I plead. She slowly looks up at me and her eyes are filled with tears.

"Are you dating me because I look like her?" she whimpers.

"No! No baby no, I love you! I admit that when I first met you I was surprised that you looked like Ella. But baby I didn't fall in love with you because you look like my best friend, I fell in love with you because you are a sweet and sassy little fireball" I say gently, cupping her face in my hands.

"B-but why me? Why aren't you with her?" she asks confusedly, tears sliding down her cheeks. I wipe the tears out of her eyes and lean my forehead against hers.

"Because I don't want Ella, she's my best friend but that's all. I want you, my sassy British babe" I murmur.

"And just so you know, I prefer blondes with beautiful pale skin and grey eyes named Emma Bloom" I say sweetly, and she lets out a small sob.

"Baby please forgive me, I would never do anything to hurt you and I should have told you about Ella sooner" I plead before standing up and leaning over her.

"I forgive you" she mumbles as she snuggles against my stomach. I put my hand on the back of her neck and gently stroke a few strands of her hair.

"I love you" I whisper before kissing the top of her head.

"I love you too" she says, her voice muffled by my shirt.

"From now on I swear I will tell you everything" I promise her, instead of giving me a verbal response she just snuggles closer to me.

"Can we just forget about the past 15 minutes for a little bit and cuddle?" she asks hopefully, and I grin.

"Of course baby, anything you want" I say gently before carefully wrapping my arms around her legs and picking her up and putting her on her bed. Her head lands on one of her pillows and I carefully hold myself up above her. She puts one hand on the back of my neck and pulls my head down to kiss me. I kiss her back passionately and she moans against my lips, I pull my lips off of hers and begin leaving a trail of kisses down to her neck. She moans and tugs on my hair slightly. I lightly nibble on her neck for a few seconds, not hard enough to leave a mark of course, before kissing my way back to her lips.

"I love you" I pant after pulling away from a passionate kiss.

"I love you too" she pants breathlessly.

"We should stop before we get carried away" I suggest, feeling my hard on make a tent in my boxers. I lift my hips up so she can't feel it. I don't feel ready for that step yet, our relationship is still new and I'm not about to do something that will mess everything up. Plus I know she's definitely not ready for it either.

"That's a good idea" she pants. I roll off of her and she snuggles up to me. I gently stroke her back and she lets out a happy sigh.

"Just so you know Portman, I don't share" she growls after a few minutes of comfortable silence. I feel my cock harden again at the possessiveness in her tone.

"Don't worry my little fireball I'm all yours" I say playfully, trying to get my cock to settle down.

"Good" she growls.

"You're sexy when you're possessive" I chuckle lightly. She quickly rolls on top of me and straddles my hips.

"I'm your sexy little vixen" she says seductively before scooting forward a little on my lap.

"Yes" I groan in pleasure before putting my hands on her hips.

"And you're my man" she says before leaning forward and kissing me on the lips.

 _'On second thought, one heated make out session won't hurt'_ I think to myself before flipping us over and reconnecting our lips.


	13. New Living Arrangements

Jake's POV

"Jake" Emma moans quietly as I kiss her neck.

"Hmmm" I hum against her neck. She tugs on my hair and I swipe my tongue against her neck gently, earning another moan from her.

"Please" she whimpers, bucking her hips against mine. I groan and it takes all of my self control to not rip our clothes off and ravish her right here and now.

"Baby don't" I say warningly, looking into her eyes that are now clouded with lust.

"Please Jake" she tries again, bucking her hips against my aching cock. I let out a growl and thrust my hips against hers. She moans in pleasure and buries her face into my neck.

"Baby we can't, not yet anyways" I whisper into her ear before kissing her cheek. She looks up at me and pouts sadly.

"I want to, believe me I really _really_ want to, but I know we're not ready for this. And I'm not willing to do something that could ruin our relationship if we move too fast" I say softly, nuzzling my nose against hers.

"Okay" she says softly, giving me a small smile even though I could still see some sadness in her eyes.

"But believe me, one day in the future when we're both ready I will absolutely _ravish_ you if you still want that" I whisper in her ear, and she shivers in pleasure.

"Oh god" she moans, hugging me closer to her.

"I'll show you how a real man is supposed to treat a lovely lady like yourself" I say gently while I rub my nose against hers.

"I'm holding you to that you know" she says determinedly as she rakes her fingers through my hair.

"I wouldn't dream of anything less" I say playfully, a smirk tugging it's way onto my lips.

"Now come along Mister Portman, let's get some supper before I decide to let you have your way with me" she says seductively before lightly nipping on my ear and giving it a playful tug.

"You sneaky little vixen" I say mock accusingly before lightly kissing her on the cheek.

"Your sneaky little vixen" she corrects me, a satisfied smirk on her lips. I lean in and capture her lips in another passionate kiss, earning a moan from her. I run my tongue along her bottom lip and she grants me access. I lightly trail my tongue against hers and we begin to battle for dominance. After about 30 seconds I win and Emma moans as I wrap her legs around my waist.

"This is what you do to me love" I say, punctuating each word with a small thrust. She moans and grinds against me.

"What happened to stopping?" she says breathlessly, gripping my shirt tightly.

"My sexy girlfriend decided to tease me" I say playfully.

"Hmmm well it looks like I'll have to tease you more often" she purs seductively as she begins moving her hand down south. Suddenly her stomach rumbles and I chuckle.

"Alright my sexy little temptress it's time to get you fed, we can _play_ again later" I say amusedly, giving her one last thrust before rolling off of her and getting off of her bed.

"Tease" she grumbles as she gets up and joins me at her dresser. I look at our disheveled reflections and chuckle at what everyone would say if they saw us like this.

"If Miss Peregrine and the others saw us like this they'd think we had sex" I chuckle as we begin straightening ourselves out.

"Well if I'd had it my way we would have" she says annoyed with a small pout.

"Awww baby don't you worry, one day we'll tear each others clothes off and have our way with each other" I say reassuringly while wrapping my arms around her from behind. She giggles and continues to smooth out her hair. After we make ourselves presentable we go back downstairs and see that everyone is halfway finished eating.

"Is everything alright?" Victor asks us concerned.

"Everything is fine Vic, we just really needed to talk about a few things" Emma says reassuringly as we sit down. After we all finish eating, the children and Miss Peregrine bid me farewell and Emma walks me to the door.

"Goodnight love" I say lovingly before kissing her forehead. She hugs me tightly and I nuzzle my face into her hair and take a deep breath.

 _'Ah strawberries'_ I think to myself as I take in the sweet scent of Emma's shampoo.

"Goodnight baby" she mumbles into my jacket.

"I'll see you tomorrow" I say lovingly before exiting the house. I wave goodbye to her before getting into my car and driving home. I park in the garage and see my parents car inside.

 _'Oh joy looks like they're home early'_ I think to myself sarcastically as I enter the house.

"Jake is that you?" I hear my mother call out as I walk into the kitchen.

"Yeah" I call back as I walk to the doorway of the living room. My parents look up at me as I approach.

"Where have you been? We got home two hours ago" my dad asks me incredulously.

"I was at my girlfriend's house, her family invited me over for dinner" I say flatly. There's no point in telling them I'd had dinner with them every night for the past 3 weeks.

"You have a girlfriend? Since when Jakey?" my mom asks me surprised.

"We've been dating for a week now actually" I say stiffly.

 _'You would have known that if you'd bothered calling the past three weeks'_ I think bitterly.

"That's wonderful! Congratulations son!" my dad exclaims as he gets up from the couch and pats me on the back.

"So who's the lucky girl?" he asks me curiously. If I had to chose between my parents on who I loved more, I'd pick my dad. He's always been more supportive of me than my mom ever has. When I gave up my acting career he wasn't mad at me, he'd been a little upset of course but I have a feeling he was just going along with my mom.

"Her name is Emma, her family moved here about two months ago. Her and her oldest siblings started going to my school three weeks ago" I say with a small smile.

"Well that's great son!" my dad says happily, playfully slapping me on the back.

"How is her family financially? I will not have my son dating some poor common girl" my mother interjects.

"Excuse me?! That is not for you to decide mother!" I growl.

"Don't you talk to me like that Jacob Portman!" she says raising her voice.

"No I will talk to you like that! Do you want to know why? It's because ever since I stopped acting you've treated me like trash. You and dad up and leave whenever you get the chance and are gone for who knows how long!" I shout back and my parents freeze, and look at me shocked.

"Jake I-" my mom tries to say but I cut her off.

"Well I for one am sick of it! I'm sick of my parents abandoning me and never being there when I need them. And you actually have the nerve to think that you can decide who I can and cannot date! You haven't even met her, heck you didn't even know I had a girlfriend until two minutes ago! You never called me in the past three weeks to she how I was doing! If you had you would've known that the past three weeks have been the best days of my life!" I yell angrily.

"I'm sorry Jake" my dad says sadly, I look at him and I can honestly tells that he feels bad.

"Now wait a moment Frank he can't jus-" my mom begins to argue.

"No Maryann he's right! We've been horrible parents!" my dad says with his voice raised. My eyes widen in shock, I have never seen my dad raise his voice to my mom before. My mom looks at him in shock, and I see a little hurt in her eyes.

"Dad" I say quietly, and he takes a deep breath and looks at me calmly.

"Yes son?" he says questioningly, looking at me in concern.

"I want to live with grandpa" I say quietly. I'd been thinking about this for a long time. My grandfather and I are very close, he was in world war two and became an explorer when he came back. He used to tell me stories about all of his adventures when I was young.

"Jake" my mom says quietly, her voice cracking.

"I can't take this anymore. I can't take being treated like I'm a big disappointment in your eyes. I deserve better than that" I say quietly, my voice cracking slightly.

"Jake" my dad says sadly.

"I love you dad but I can't do this anymore" I say desperately, hoping he'll understand.

"I love you too son" he says before wrapping his arms around me to hug me.

"Frank he can't just move-" my mom tries to argue, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"He'll be better off living with my father Mary, they have a special bond you know that" he says with his arm around my shoulders.

"I'm going to start packing" I say calmly and my dad nods. I go into my room and after about 45 minutes I have all of my clothes,books, my phone and it's charger, my school stuff, and my blankets and pillows packed up. I also grab my copies of the films I've been in and put them in my backpack.

"I'll help you pack up your car" my dad says quietly as he picks up a couple of boxes.

"Thanks dad" I say gratefully as I follow him to my car, holding a few boxes myself.

"I just want you to he happy" he says emotionally.

"Emma makes me happy dad, she makes me so happy" I say gratefully.

"Good. I hope I'll get to meet her one day" he says hopefully.

"You will. I'll bring her over for dinner some time, after mom cools off though" I say.

"Understandable" my dad says, nodding his head understandingly. After fifteen minutes my car is all packed and my parents are standing in front of the door with tears in their eyes.

"Jake please don't go" my mom begs, her head on my dad's shoulder while his arm is around her shoulders.

"Bye mom, bye dad" I say as I get into my car and start it.

"Bye son" my dad whispers. I pull out of the garage and begin driving to my grandpa's house. He lives about 20 minutes away from my parents, so at least I'll still be ten minutes away from Emma. I look at the clock and see that it's 8:30 pm. I pull into my grandpa's driveway, get out of my car after turning it off and knock on the door.

"Hello tygrysko" my grandfather greets me with a smile.

"Hi grandpa, is your offer to live with you still available?" I ask hopefully.

"Of course! Of course" he says excitedly.

"Is now a good time? I have all my stuff" I say shyly, gesturing to my car.

"Excellent! Let's get to work on getting you settled in!" he exclaims as he moves towards my car.

"Grandpa I couldn't ask you to-" I begin to interject, not wanting him to strain himself.

"Nonsense! I'll be damned if I don't help my favorite grandson move in" he says while waving me off, causing me to let out a chuckle. After making sure he only carries in the lightest stuff, we get all of my belongings into the quest room, well my room.

"I'll unpack tomorrow" I tell grandpa as we put the last two boxes on the floor.

"Alright Jake now come,tonight is something to celebrate! I have chocolate cake in the kitchen" he says encouragingly and I grin.

"Thanks grandpa" I say appreciatively as I follow him into the kitchen. Goes to the counter and begins putting a few slices of cake on two plates.

"You're welcome Jake, how about instead of going to school tomorrow we go on a fishing trip? You seem very stressed out and you should try to unwind" he suggests as he gives me a plate of cake.

"Sounds great grandpa!" I say excitedly before I take a bite, and let out a moan at the taste. I love my grandpa's homemade chocolate cake, it's amazing! We eat our cake and after about an hour of chatting we go to bed. I lay in my bed and think about how crazy today has been. Emma and I humping each other, promising her that one day I'd ravish her, standing up to my mom, moving in with my grandpa.

 _'Tomorrow is going to be great!'_ I think to myself before falling asleep.


	14. The Trip

Jake's POV

The next day, after unpacking all of my belongings I gather a few outfits and put them in my backpack. Grandpa and I have a quick breakfast of eggs and toast and begin driving to our favorite fishing spot. It's a beautiful lake two hours from grandpa's house, it's in the middle of the woods and it's a bit of a trek but the view is absolutely breathtaking. Once we finish pitching our tents and blowing up the air mattresses and get them settled into the tents with our blankets and pillows we begin setting up our fishing poles. After about three hours of fishing grandpa has caught four fish and I've caught five. We cook a few hot dogs over our fire and grandpa is in the middle of telling me one of his old war stories when I begin to feel like I've forgotten something. I shake it off and go back to listening to the story, it's rare when I get to have one on one time with grandpa and I'm really enjoying it. After we eat our hot dogs grandpa pulls out stuff to make s'mores. After I cook my marshmallow just the way I like them I put it on the graham cracker that has the piece of chocolate on it and put the other piece of graham cracker on top of the marshmallow, I take a big bite and nearly moan at the taste.

 _'Yummy'_ I think to myself as I take another bite. It isn't until a few hours later when I'm laying on my air mattress listening to the crickets chirping outside the tent that I remember what I had forgotten all day.

 _'I wonder what Emma is doing'_ I think to myself and my eyes widen. Oh shit I promised Emma I'd see her today, she's going to kill me! Grandpa and I had decided this morning to make this a week long trip, in other words I have six more long days without seeing Emma. I frown and think about how she's doing right now, she's probably worried sick! I'm a horrible boyfriend, I can't believe I forgot to tell her about this trip.

 _'Snap out of it Portman! Just call her tomorrow and everything will be fine!'_ I scold myself. I take a deep breath and begin to think about how Emma had grinded on me yesterday. I feel my cock harden at the mental image and groan quietly.

 _'I can't believe I'm actually going to do this!'_ I think to myself disbelievingly. Thankfully grandpa and I had set up our tents apart from each other so I don't have to worry too much about waking him up. His tent is about fifty feet away from mine. I reach down and begin stroking myself through my boxers as I imagine that my hand is actually Emma's. I quietly grunt and remove my boxers so I'm completely naked. I throw them across the tent and go back to stroking my now rock hard cock. I groan and wrap my hand around it and begin pumping it while imagining Emma underneath me as I thrust against her.

 _'Oh god, if only she was really here!'_ I think to myself as I thrust into my hand. When we get back from this trip the first thing I'm going to do is fuck Emma senseless, I should've done that last night when she was begging me to. I pump my cock frantically as I imagine us making love on my bed, and imagining her face as she orgasms pushes me over the edge. I cum all over my hand and chest with a low moan. After a few minutes of laying flat on my back panting, I manage to reach to the side and grab a few napkins. I clean myself up and put my boxers back on. I put my blanket over me and fall into a blissful slumber.

 **2 Days Later**

Emma's POV

Three days...it's been three damn days since my love has disappeared. Three agonizing days since I've heard his soothing voice and felt his arms around me.

 _'What if something bad has happened? What if he got kidnapped and is being held hostage? What if he was in a car accident? What if-'_ I begin to panic.

"Emma do calm down, your pacing is making me incredibly dizzy" Horace requests, looking up at me from his book. I pause my pacing in front of the telephone and look at him, feeling my anxiety go down a little.

"I'm sorry Horace, I'm just very worried. Disappearing without a word is so unlike him, what if something's happened?" I say worriedly, glancing back at the phone.

"Emma what's the worst that could happen?" Enoch asks as he and Olive enter the room holding hands.

"Well actually he could be dead I suppose, but hey look on the bright side! At least it's not you right?" Enoch continues, and Olive elbows him in the ribs. Enoch winches and mumbles an apology as my eyes begin to water.

"Nice work O'Connor, I just got her to calm down and you just had to go and get her worked up again!" Horace grumbles in annoyance as he looks at me worriedly. Suddenly the phone rings and I jump to answer it.

"Hello Emma Bloom speaking!" I say quickly, putting it on speaker **(A/N: Just go with it)** so the others could hear.

"Hi baby" Jake says panting. We all look at the phone in shock and I feel relief wash over me.

"Jake! Oh my bird love you had me so worried!" I say relieved.

"I'm sorry babe, I'm on a fishing trip with my grandfather and there's no reception out here. In fact I had to climb a tree just to be able get enough bars to make this call" he says apologetically. My eyes widen and I look at the others, they look as shocked as I am.

"Oh do be careful love!" I say worriedly, feeling as if something bad is about to happen.

"Don't worry Em I'll be alright. I miss you so much" He says lovingly, and I hear Enoch gag.

"I miss you too love, come home soon alright?. I love you Jake" I say with tears in my eyes.

"Don't you worry love I'll be home in a few days, I promise. I love you too Emm-" suddenly something snaps on the other side of the line.

"Ahhhhhh!" Jake screams. Fear shoots through me and we all look at the phone frightened. The phone goes dead and his screams are cut off.

"Jake? Love please answer me!" I say desperately with tears sliding down my cheeks. I'm answered with nothing but dead silence. I sob and hang up the phone. Olive lets go of Enoch's hand and rushes over to me and hugs me.

 _'Please be okay'_ I think as I sob into Olive's shoulder. I look up slightly and see Horace giving Enoch a small glare.

"Nice job jinxing him O'Connor" Horace says annoyed. That's when I just let go and burst into full on sobbing.

"There there Emma, I'm sure he's alright. Jake's a tough guy" Olive says reassuringly as she rubs my back.

 _'Please be alright love, please come home to me'_

I silently pray.

Jake's POV

 _'Ouch'_ I think to myself as I carefully move to climb down the tree. The branch I'd been sitting on snapped and I fell at least fifteen feet before getting caught by some stronger branches. After I am safely on the ground I check my phone, unfortunately the call disconnected.

 _'Damn it'_ I internally curse. Emma is probably terrified right now, I want to let her know I'm alright, but there is no way in hell I'm climbing up another tree. She'll probably kill me when I get home though. I wince at the slight pain in my back and walk back to the campsite.

 _'Don't worry baby I'll be home soon'_ I think to myself as I sit on a large rock in front of the lake.

 **4 Days Later**

Emma's POV

It's been four days since I've heard from Jake, four days since I heard him scream in terror before the line went dead.

"Come and play with us Emma!" Bronwyn says excitedly as she takes my hand and tries to pull me over to the tea party that her and Claire have set up. All of us are in the backyard enjoying the sunny weather.

"No thanks Bronwyn, run along and play" I say gently as I take my hand away from hers. She pouts for a few seconds before skipping off to Claire. I sigh sadly and sit on the steps of the back porch. Off to the side by one of the big shady trees Olive and Enoch are cuddling and they're laughing as Enoch presses kisses to Olive's face. I watch them for a few minutes, feeling sad and lonely. I've been so distraught the past few days that Miss Peregrine would not let me go to school. All I've been thinking about the past for days is Jake, I hope he's alright. I feel my heart ache as the thought of him laying dead on the ground somewhere enters my mind. I feel a tear slide down my cheek and key out a small sniffle.

"Emma?" I hear a familiar American accent call out, and I freeze. I turn my head to the left and there he is, my Jake, standing about a hundred feet away from me. Without another thought I get up and run, run to the most important guy in my life.

Jake's POV

As soon as Emma spots me walking towards her she runs across the yard with everyone watching in shock and jumps into my arms. I wrap my arms around her and she wraps her legs around my waist, causing me to lose my balance and fall backwards with her on top of me. I wince at the slight pain in my back and thankfully Emma doesn't notice.

"Oh thank god you're alright!" She says relieved, letting out a big sigh.

"I'm sorry I didn't call again, I would've but my phone had no service and I didn't want to climb another tree" I say apologetically into her hair.

"I was so frightened" she whispers, pain in her voice. I gently rub her back she looks down at me for a few seconds before slapping my right cheek, hard.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again Jacob Portman!" She yells angrily. I open my mouth to apologize but her lips are suddenly covering mine and her tongue is battling mine for dominance. I easily win but she continues to kiss me passionately.

"Don't" kiss "you" kiss "ever" kiss "do that to me again!" she demands between kisses. I put my hand on the back of her head and kiss her back passionately.

"Darling I was so worried about you" she mumbles after breaking the kiss.

"I'm sorry baby, I promise I'll never scare you like that again" I say gently as I roll onto my side. I wince at the pain again, and this time Emma does notice.

"What is it? What hurts?" she asks me worriedly.

"It's nothing really, my back is just a little bruised up because of my fall" I say sheepishly and she gasps in horror.

"Oh my bird! Jake did I hurt you? I'm so so sorry!" she exclaims apologetically, and I see horror and pain in her eyes.

"No! No sweetheart it's alright, you didn't hurt me" I say reassuringly as I wipe a stray tear from her eye.

"C'mon let's go join the others" I say gently as I help her up. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and she immediately leans her head on my shoulder as we begin walking over to the others who are now staring us in shock.

"I love you so much" Emma whispers, looking up at me.

"I love you too Emma, I missed you so much" I murmur before kissing her forehead.

"When we're alone I'll tell you what I did on the first night of the trip" I whisper in her ear, causing her eyes to widen and for a light blush to color her cheeks.

"Does that mean you changed your mind about waiting?" she asks hopefully.

"Hell yes" I quickly agree, remembering how sexy she looked straddling me. She lets out a small squeal and I chuckle.

"Please tell me we'll be alone tonight' she says desperately.

"Eager now, aren't we?" I ask playfully.

"You have no idea" she mumbles. I laugh as we walk over to the others, exchanging playful banter along the way.

 _'God I can't wait until tonight'_ I think to myself as we join everyone.


	15. A Wild Night

Jake's POV

After reassuring everyone that I'm alright, I drive Emma to my grandpa's house. I told him about Emma a few days ago, and he's been wanting to meet her ever since. I open the car door for Emma and she giggles and kisses my cheek as she gets out.

"Thank you love" she says lovingly as she takes my hand.

"Only the best for you, my dear" I say playfully as I close the car door. I take her hand and lead her to the front door. I open it and hold it out for her, then I follow her inside and shut the door behind us.

"Welcome to my new home" I say playfully as I lead her into the living room. I'd told her and the others everything about moving in with my grandfather, minus what my mother said about Emma of course.

"It's lovely" Emma says as she looks around.

"Why thank you Miss" grandpa says from behind us, causing Emma to jump slightly.

"Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you" he says apologetically.

"Oh no that's quite alright Mr. Portman" Emma says quickly.

"Emma please, Mr. Portman wdown.y father, please call me Abe" grandpa says amusedly.

"Yes sir..I mean Abe" Emma says awkwardly before burying her face into my shoulder. Grandpa and I chuckle for a moment and that's when I notice that he's in a suit.

"Where are you off to tonight?" I ask him curiously.

"I have a date with a lovely woman at the bingo parlor tonight, I'll be gone until late tonight. I actually have to head out now. It was lovely to meet you Emma" he says smiling and gives us a small nod.

"It was lovely to meet you too sir" Emma says politely as grandpa walks to the front door. He says a quick goodbye to us, and then suddenly we're all alone. I look up at the clock and see that it is only 6:30 pm.

"So what should we do now?" I ask with a small grin. Emma grins up at me and suddenly we're kissing passionately.

"I think you already know the answer to that Darling" she pants against my lips.

"I love it when you call me that" I say breathlessly before picking her up. Emma lets out a small squeal and wraps her legs around my waist. I carry her into my room while kissing her passionately. I kick the door closed and lock the door without breaking our kiss. I put her down on my bed and settle on top of her. She moans and tugs on my shirt as she kicks off her heels. I kick off my sneakers and quickly take off my socks. Emma pulls off my jacket and throws it across the room. I pull off my shirt quickly and Emma wastes no time before trailing her fingers up and down my faint six pack. I hitch her dress up over her hips and press my growing arousal against her, earning a low moan from Emma.

"Jacob please" she whimpers, grinding her hips against the tent in my jeans.

"Shhh baby I know" I whisper before pecking her on the lips. She reaches down and unbuttons my jeans and unzips them. I push them down and kick them off onto the ground while I pull Emma's dress of of her. I throw it to the ground with the rest of our clothes and let out a loud moan at the sight before me. Emma is clad in only a blue bra and matching panties.

"God Emma you look so sexy" I groan before kissing her neck. She moans as I lightly bite the juncture between her neck and shoulder.

"Jake, please love" she moans while tangling her fingers in my hair and tugging on it slightly.

"Please what baby?" I pant against her neck before peppering it with kisses.

"Ravish me love, you promised" she pants, lightly running her nails up my back, causing me to moan in a mix of pain and pleasure. My back still hurts, but I'm not going to deny my girl what she wants any longer.

"Of course love, I always keep my promises after all" I say cockily before lightly nipping on her ear. I reach behind her and unclip her bra and slide it off of her. I toss it onto the ground and cup her left breast in my hand.

"Jake wait" Emma says, and I immediately pause. I'm not going to do anything she doesn't want me to.

"Did you change your mind? Because it's totally okay if you did" I say reassuringly.

"No! No I didn't change my mind, I want this so _so_ much" she says breathlessly, and I wait patiently for her to continue.

"It's just that...no one's ever seen me naked before" she says embarrassedly, turning away from me.

"When Alexander... violated me, he um..all he did was flip me onto my stomach, h-hitch up my dress and rip off my panties...H-he never saw me fully unclothed" she stutters nervously, looking down self consciously.

"Baby...Emma, Darling please look at me" I say pleadingly, using her new pet name for me. She looks up at me shyly and I see tears pricking her eyes.

"I swear I will never _ever_ let that bastard near you again. Knowing what he put you through...all I want to do is hunt him down and make him suffer. But I know you don't want me to so I won't" I say gently.

"And Emma, you don't need to be self conscious in front of me. You have an amazing body and I swear I will _warship_ every inch of it if you'll allow me to. I love you so _so_ much baby" I continue lovingly, pecking her on the lips before gently kissing her forehead and both her cheeks.

"I'm scared it won't be good for you, I don't know what I'm doing" she says nervously.

"Love I don't know what I'm doing either, and of course it'll be good for me. It'll be fucking perfect because I'm having my first time with the woman I am so deeply in love with" I say lovingly as I lightly rub my nose against her cheek, earning a small giggle from her.

"It'll be my first time too, what Alexander did doesn't count and I'm not going to allow what he did to ruin my life anymore" she says determinedly and all I feel is pride at her words.

"That's great, let's continue this another time sweetheart. I don't want you to feel like you need to do this" I suggest and she quickly shakes her head no.

'Please no, I want this so much Darling" she says pleadingly, running her fingers up and down my chest.

"Alright sweetheart, as long as you're sure" I murmur before lightly kissing her jaw.

"I've never been so sure of anything in my life, you can continue fondling me now by the way" she says seductively, putting her hand over mine, which is still cupping her breast. I blush slightly and lightly squeeze it. earning a small moan from Emma. I grin and lightly run my thumb over her nipple before latching my lips onto her other one. she moans in pleasure and I lightly run my tongue over her right nipple while I gently pinch the left one.

"Oh god baby" she moans in pleasure, tugging on my hair again. I lightly nip on the little peak and tug on it with my teeth. With my freehand I carefully pull her panties down and she kicks them the rest of the way off. Emma strokes my aching cock through my boxers and I moan against her nipple. I quickly take my boxers off and Emma's eyes widen when she takes in my size.

"Wow" is all she manages to say, her cheeks turning red.

"Is it that bad?" I ask self consciously, moving my head away from her breast.

"No! no of course not love, I'm just wondering if it will fit" she stutters bashfully.

"You're adorable" I say playfully before pecking her on the lips. I position myself at her entrance and I groan at the feeling of my cock brushing against her slick walls.

"Wait hold on" I say gently as I reach over to my nightstand and grab a condom from the drawer.

 _'Thank god I remembered to buy these when we stopped at the gas station'_ I think to myself relieved, remembering how I bought two boxes when grandpa and I had stopped for gas on our way home this afternoon. I quickly put it on and reposition myself at her entrance.

"Ready?" I ask her, gently brushing a few locks of her beautiful hair away from her face.

"Yes" she moans, grinding up against me. I capture her lips with mine and gently thrust all the way into her, causing her to gasp against my lips. I stay perfectly still to allow her to adjust to my size and gently kiss away her tears.

"You can move now" she pants after a few minutes. I carefully slide out halfway and thrust back in, causing us both to moan. Emma lightly scratches at my back as I begin to slowly thrust in and out of her, and it feels amazing. I wrap her legs around my waist, causing my cock to go in deeper.

"Harder love" she moans, cupping my cheek with her left hand. I gently kiss her forehead before beginning to thrust harder. She moans loudly and I quickly cover her lips with mine, kissing her passionately as I make love to her.

"Harder love" she moans against my lips before lightly nipping on my bottom lip. I begin thrusting harder and she lets out a loud moan of pleasure. After a few minutes of thrusting I feel my orgasm approaching.

 _'I'm not going to cum until she does first'_ I think to myself as I reach down and begin stroking her little bud.

"Oh god, Jake!" she cries out in pleasure, and I feel her walls tighten around me. I begin thrusting harder and faster while I gently stroke her bud, and after a few minutes she cries out in pleasure and cums around me. I cum a few seconds later and moan into her neck.

"I love you" she pants after a few minutes of us trying to get our breathing under control.

"I love you too" I pant back as I gently rest my forehead against her chest, and listen to her heartbeat. I carefully pull out and Emma moans at the loss. I carefully take off the condom, tie it closed and put it in the trashcan.

"C'mon let's get you cleaned up" I say gently as I pick her up bridal style. I carry her into the bathroom and turn on the hot water in the tub after I put her down. I put the cork in the tub and after a few moments of digging through the cabinet I pull out my favorite strawberry scented body wash. I squirt some into the water and watch as bubbles begin to form.

"A bubble bath! You sure know how to make a girl feel special" Emma giggles as she nuzzles her face against my chest.

"Only the best for my beautiful girl, now go on and enjoy yourself, you deserve it. I'm going to get my room straightened out" I say lovingly before kissing her forehead and walking back into my room. I quickly gather up our clothes and put mine in the hamper while I fold up Emma's and put them on top of my dresser. I clean myself off with some tissues before putting on a new pair of boxers.

"Jake?" I hear Emma call out from the bathroom.

"Yeah?" I call back as I grab a pair of boxers and a T-shirt for her to change into.

"Can you come in here?" she asks, and I carry the clothes to the bathroom.

"Is something wrong love?" I ask gently while I enter the bathroom, and I freeze in the doorway. Emma is now laying in the tub surrounded by bubbles.

 _'So beautiful'_ I think to myself as I take in the view.

"No, I was just wondering if you'd help me wash my back" she says bashfully.

"Of course sweetheart" I say lovingly as I put the clothes down. I take a wet washcloth and put some body wash on it, then I gently rub it over her back. She sigh's in contentment and I gently kiss her forehead. After a few minutes she gets out of the bath and I take the cork out of the tub before taking the towel from Emma I gently pat her dry, kissing patches of her skin here and there while doing so.

"Oh Jake, you spoil me" she giggles as she takes the towel from me and hangs it up.

"You deserve to be pampered baby, you're my princess" I say sweetly before kissing her cheek.

"Well soon it'll be my turn to spoil you" she says determinedly as she puts on the clothes I brought her.

"You already do love, you spoil me by letting me give you affection and giving me affection in return" I say gently before pecking her on the lips.

"You say the sweetest things" Emma says softly as she rubs her nose against mine.

"Of course, only the best for my number one girl" I say sweetly before leading her out of the bathroom and into the living room. We sit on the couch and I turn on the TV. I put Ender's Game on and Emma squeals excitedly.

"Yay I finally get to watch one of your films!" she says excitedly. I chuckle and kiss her forehead before shifting so we're laying down with her back against my chest. About twenty minutes into the film I hear Emma snoring lightly and chuckle softly. I guess I really wore her out. I look at the clock and the last thing I see before I fall asleep is that it's 9:37 pm.

Abe's POV

I walk into my living room and the first thing I see is my grandson and Emma fast asleep. Jake has his arm around Emma's waist and Emma has her head resting on his other arm.

 _'That's my boy!'_ I think proudly before going over to the phone. I call Miss Peregrine and inform her that the children have fallen asleep and that Jake will bring Emma home tomorrow. After I hang up the phone I go to my room and fall asleep.


	16. Unexpected News

Emma's POV

The first thing I notice when I wake up is that Jake's arm is around my waist. I put my hand over his and he lets out a small groan before pulling me closer to him. I turn around in his arms and wince at how sore my entrance feels.

"Good morning love" I whisper before kissing his jaw.

"Mmmm good morning Emma" he mumbles, opening his eyes sleepily. I lean in slightly and peck him on the lips sweetly.

"I could get used to waking up like this" he says tiredly, a small smile on his lips.

"Me too" I say sweetly, snuggling closer to him.

"Last night was the best night of my life" he says sweetly, kissing my temple.

"It was mine too" I say lovingly before kissing him on the lips again. He shifts so I'm laying partially underneath him, and deepens the kiss.

"Jake" I whisper against his lips.

"I love you Emma" he whispers back.

"I love you too Darling" I murmur before kissing his forehead.

"I love it when you call me that" Jake says before carefully rolling off of me and sitting next to my legs. I open my mouth to protest when suddenly my stomach lets out a loud growl.

"Alright looks like it's time to feed my princess" he says amusedly as he picks me up bridal style and carries me to the kitchen.

"Jake!" I squeal happily as he sets me down on one of the chairs in front of the dining table.

"What do you want for breakfast sweetheart? Anything you want, just name it!" Jake says as he walks over to the fridge and opens it.

"Um cereal is fine, I don't want to trouble you" I say shyly.

"Nonsense! Baby you could never trouble me, I just really _really_ want to spoil you right now. Please let me" he pleads, looking at me over the fridge door.

"Well...could I have chocolate chip pancakes please?" I ask hopefully.

"Of course! One big stack of chocolate chip pancakes coming right up!" he says as he closes the fridge and begins gathering all the ingredients. After a few minutes the scent of chocolate chip pancakes cooking floats around the room.

"They'll be ready in a few minutes love" he says sweetly with a British accent as he walks over to me.

"Thank you Darling" I say gratefully as he leans down and kisses the top of my head.

"You're very welcome love" he says sweetly as he walks back over to the stove and flips the pancakes. A couple minutes later he walks over to me holding a plate filled with giant chocolate chip pancakes, and kisses the top of my head as he sets it down in front of me with a knife and fork.

"Would you like milk or orange juice sweetheart?" he asks me lovingly as he goes back over to the fridge and opens it.

"Milk please" I say politely. He grins at me and takes the milk out of the fridge and closes the fridge door. A minute later he puts a tall glass of milk next to the plate before sitting in the chair next to me. I pick up the silverware and begin cutting one of the pancakes when I notice that Jake doesn't have any food in front of him, he's just smiling at me and resting his elbow on the table with his hand supporting his jaw. Without a word I get up and sit on his lap. He immediately moves his arm and wraps it around my waist snugly. I slide the plate and glass over to us and cut up the pancake. I grab a piece with my fork and hold it in front of his lips. He grins at me amusedly before opening his mouth and eating the piece. We take turns feeding each other and before we know it the plate and the glass are empty.

"That was delicious love" I compliment Jake.

"Only the best for my girl" he says before kissing my cheek. He moves me off of his lap and puts the dishes in the sink.

"Where's your grandfather?" I ask curiously. We haven't seen him at all this morning.

"Oh he left a note on the counter, he went to the bingo parlor. Probably to spend time with his 'hot date'" he says playfully, wiggling his eyebrows. I giggle and he smirks cockily.

"And as much as I'd love to take you back to my room and repeat what we did last night, I need to take you home" he says, reluctant at that last part.

"Okay" I say sadly. I really hoped we could have more fun today, even though I'm still sore from last night.

"Don't worry love, we'll have more fun very soon" he says reassuringly, cupping my cheek in his hand. I put my hand over his and he leans in and kisses me. I stand up and wrap my arms around his neck as we continue to kiss passionately.

"On second thought, one quick round never hurt anyone" Jake pants before picking me up, wrapping my legs around his waist, and carrying me into his room with his already hard cock pressing against me.

 **A Few Hours** **Later**

Miss Peregrine's POV

Emma and Jake have just arrived at the house and are cuddling on the love seat in the living room.

"Mr. Portman might I have a word?" I ask strictly from the doorway. Emma and Jake glance at each other and I see worry in their eyes.

"Y-yes ma'am" he stutters nervously as he stands up, and I send him a playful glare. He follows me into the hallway and looks at me nervously.

Jake's POV

"Thank you" Miss Peregrine says gratefully, and I freeze. What on earth could she be thanking me for?

"Thank you for taking care of those bills, I don't know what we would've done without your help" she continues.

"It was no trouble really, you guys are my family now and you needed help. I was happy to do it honestly" I say politely. They've all become my family in the past month that I've known them, and I'm willing to do absolutely anything to take care of my family. She tears up from my words and suddenly she's hugging me. I snap out of my shock and hug her back. After a few more minutes of talking privately, we rejoin the others in the living room. Emma looks up at me nervously as I enter the room and I give her a reassuring smile as I sit next to her.

"Everything's fine love" I say reassuringly, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

"You sure?" she asks worriedly, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"I'm sure sweetheart" I promise her before kissing the top of her head. Suddenly my phone rings in my pocket, gaining everyone's attention. I remove my arm from around Emma's shoulders and she moves her head away. I take my phone out of my pocket and see that it's Riggs calling me.

"Please excuse me" I say politely before standing up and exiting the room. Once I'm on the staircase I sit down and with a shaky breath I answer the call.

"Hello?" I say nervously.

Emma's POV

"What do you suppose that was about?" Horace asks curiously, looking at the door Jake just exited from.

"Whatever it was must have been very important, for him to exit that quickly" Millard says.

"Do you have any ideas Emma?" Hugh asks me curiously, and everyone turns to look at me expectantly.

"I haven't a slightest idea" I say honestly, looking at the doorway worriedly. Jake seemed very shocked when he checked to see who was calling him.

 _'I hope everything is alright'_ I think nervously, looking down at my lap. Suddenly Jake slowly enters the room and we all look up at him nervously.

"That was my agent Riggs" Jake says quietly as he walks further into the room, stopping once he's in front of both the couches, one is on the left of him and the other is on the right.

"He offered me a new contract...and offered to fly me out to an audition for a movie called The Space Between Us" he continues, looking around the room at each of us. I feel my heart stop and my eyes widen in shock. That means he'll be leaving, for bird knows how long. The room erupts into cheers of joy, congratulating him.

"That's amazing Jake!" Olive.

"That's excellent news Mr. Portman" Miss Peregrine.

"Congratulations mate!" Enoch.

"Be sure to tell us all about it when you come back!" Fiona.

"Don't forget about us okay?" Hugh.

"Have a great time" Millard.

"Come back soon Jake!" Bronwyn and Claire.

"Don't let the fame get to your head Portman" Victor.

"Make sure you dress sharply" Horace. The twins, who can't talk, just walk over to Jake and hug his legs.

"Emma?" Jake says, looking over at me in concern.

"What are you going to do?" I ask quietly, my voice breaking mid sentence.

"I called my grandfather while I was out there, he said that this is the opportunity of a lifetime and that I should take it. This could be my big break" he says nervously. I feel tears pool in my eyes and he walks over to me.

"I'm not going to do this unless you tell me it's okay, I need to know that you're okay with this" he says as he kneels down in front of me.

"Just promise me nothings going to change between us while you're gone" I whimper, looking down at him sadly.

"I promise" he says as he gets up slightly and wraps his arms around my waist. I clutch the collar of his jacket and let the tears fall as I bury my face into his jacket.

"I love you" I sob into his shoulder.

"I love you too" he whispers into my shoulder, his voice cracking.

"When do you leave?" Miss Peregrine asks. Jake sighs and reluctantly lets go of me to look at the others.

"I'm supposed to call Riggs back so he can set up a ticket for a first class flight for tomorrow morning" he says nervously, and my eyes widen.

"So soon?" I ask sadly. I thought I'd at least have a few more days with him.

"The auditions start tomorrow night. Riggs thinks it would be best if I got there early so I could meet my possible cast mates" Jake say quietly, looking up at me with love and sadness in his eyes.

"You should call him now then" I suggest tearfully.

"Okay" he says quietly as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. He dials the number and holds it up to his ear.

"Hey Riggs it's Jake, I accept your offer" he says into the phone.

"Yes sir" he says calmly. Riggs seems to be saying something important because Jake has a serious look on his face as he listens.

"Yes sir I understand... thank you...I'll see you tomorrow night then..bye Riggs" he says calmly before hanging up his phone and letting out a big sigh as he puts his phone in his pocket.

"Well?" Horace says urgently.

"I need to be at the airport at 8 am, I should probably go back to my grandpa's and start packing" he says nervously, looking down at my watch. It is now 8 pm, which means Jake will be leaving in twelve hours.

"We'll all be at the airport to see you off" Miss Peregrine promises. Jake nods politely before pulling me into another hug.

"Goodnight love" he whispers in my ear.

"Goodnight Darling" I whisper into his neck before lightly kissing it. He tells everyone a quick goodbye, gives me a quick goodbye kiss and then leaves.

 _'Tomorrow is going to be a long day'_ I think to myself sadly.


	17. The Audition

Emma's POV

"I love you Emma" Jake whispers as he leans his forehead against mine.

"I love you too" I say quietly, holding back a sob. We're all in the airport and Jake had just finished giving everyone else a proper goodbye, and now it's my turn.

"I got you something before I went home last night" he mumbles as he puts his free hand in his jacket pocket, the other one is holding my hand.

"What is it?" I ask curiously, rubbing my nose against his. He pulls something rectangular out of his pocket and puts it in my free hand. I look down and see that it's a brand new touch screen cell phone in a blue case, my eyes widen and I look up at him in shock, tears sliding down my cheeks.

"Jake" I whisper and he kisses the top of my head.

"I already exchanged our numbers so we can call each other. I'll call you every night before bed and every morning before I start filming, I promise" he says sweetly.

"I love it, thank you so much" I say thankfully.

"I also put some pictures of us on there so you can look at them whenever you miss me" he says before nuzzling the side of my face.

"So I can look at them all day everyday then Darling?" I ask lovingly, kissing his jaw.

"Honestly you two! it's only 7:55 in the blasted morning, get a hold of yourselves!" Enoch grumbles, letting out a small groan of pain when Olive elbows him in the ribs.

"Hush love!" Olive scolds him before nuzzling her face into his chest.

"Yes dear" he says quietly before wrapping his arm around her waist. I turn my attention back to Jake and he grins down at me, but I see sadness in his eyes.

"I'll miss you Emma" he says quietly before pulling me into a hug.

"I'll miss you too Jake, so much" I mumble into his chest.

"I'll call you as soon as the plane land's I promise" he whispers before kissing my forehead.

"Good luck at the audition love" I say before lightly kissing him on the lips.

"Thank you sweetheart, you'll be watching it on TV right?" he asks hopefully.

"Of course Darling, I wouldn't miss it for the world" I say lovingly.

"Attention passengers, flight 11A for Los Angeles is now boarding" a woman's voice calls over the intercom.

"Well that's me...wish me luck!" Jake says nervously before kissing the top of my head and walking towards the gate.

"Break a leg! Make every moment count!" I call out encouragingly and I faintly hear him chuckle as he moves farther away.

"I love you!" I call out one last time. He stops right outside the gate and turns to look at me.

"I love you too sweetheart!" he calls out while waving goodbye. He turns back around and disappears into the gate.

 **8 pm That Night** "Hurry up everyone it's starting!" I say excitedly.

"Come now children! Settle down now!" Miss Peregrine instructs excitedly. We all settle down in front of the television and watch as many actors and actresses are interviewed while waiting to audition, and finally after about twenty minutes it's Jake's turn.

"Welcome Asa Butterfield! Thank you so much for joining us tonight!" the interviewer says to Jake.

"No thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here" Jake says thankfully. He's using his British accent for the whole interview and the auditions.

"So Asa, can you tell us how it feels to be auditioning for a film after so long?" the man asks curiously.

"I must admit that it feels strange to be doing this after almost four years, in all honesty I've always been extremely nervous when it comes to auditioning, I do my own stunts in the films but it's the auditions that get the better of me" Jake chuckles nervously.

"Understandable, especially since this is your first audition since Ender's Game" the man says understandably. Suddenly a girl is squealing and Jake looks very excited.

"Asa!" the girl squeals, dropping her bag on the ground so she can wrap both arms around Jake's waist. Jake chuckles and wraps his arms around her shoulders as he hugs her back, causing jealously to flare up in my chest. Jake sways them back and forth for a few seconds and the girl giggles as she nuzzles her face against Jake's chest. Suddenly she turns her head to the side and we all gasp when we see my own face on the screen.

"It's great to see you too Ella" Jake chuckles as he rests his chin on the top of her head.

"How're you?" she asks sweetly, pulling away slightly to look up at my boyfriend's face.

"Much better now that I've seen my best friend after so long" Jake says playfully.

"How've you been?" he asks curiously, looking her up and down with a grin on his face.

"Great other than the fact that my best friend hasn't called me in two weeks!" she says playfully, a small pout on her lips.

"Well it's great to see you two reuniting so nicely" the interviewer says kindly, a grin on his face.

"Sir you happen to be witnessing the bond of a nine year friendship" Jake says proudly, and our eyes widen in shock. Jake's known Ella since he was eight! That's so much time to get to know each other and just be around each other that I wish I'd had with him.

"And what a crazy nine years it's been!, You know Asa we still haven't been in a film together" Ella says playfully, nudging Jake's shoulder with her head.

"Well hopefully that will soon change. It's ironic because we actually met at an audition and have been best friends ever since" Jake chuckles, lightly rubbing Ella's shoulder.

"Really? What film was it for?" the man asks curiously.

"I honestly do not remember, any idea Ella?" he asks curiously, looking down at the brunette beauty beside him.

"I haven't a clue actually" she says after thinking for a few minutes.

"Well it was good being able to have a word with you both, good luck with the audition" he says with a grin.

"Thanks so much for having us! C'mon Asa let's go mingle!" she says excitedly, taking Jake's hand and beginning to lead him further into the room. Jake just laughs and picks her bag off of the floor and slings it over his shoulder while they walk.

"Wow" Bronwyn says, looking between me and Ella.

Jake's POV

"I've missed you" Ella mumbles once we're far enough away from the interviewer.

"I've missed you too El, but why do you have your bags with you? Didn't you stop by the hotel first?" I ask her curiously, looking between the bag I'm carrying and her huge backpack the she has strapped to her.

"Didn't have the time, my plane was delayed by a few hours this morning due to all of the rain in London" she explains, and I nod understandingly. I remember getting caught in the rain with her when I was visiting her in London during the summer, it was coming down so fast we couldn't see a thing in front of us.

"Ah" I say understandingly.

"Asa Butterfield and Ella Purnell please make your way to the front desk to get scripts, you'll be auditioning first" an older man calls out to us. Ella and I glance at each other for a second before dropping her stuff on the ground and racing over to the desk to get our scripts.

Emma's POV

After seeing Ella and Jake talking privately in the background for a few minutes, something seems to get them very excited because they drop Ella's stuff on the ground and race to the front of the room. The camera angle changes and zooms in on them.

"You ready?" Ella asks excitedly as she hands him a packet, and I realize it's a script.

"To be honest I am completely terrified right now. What if I freeze up?" Jake says nervously.

"Hey look at me, look right at me" Ella says soothingly and cups his cheek. My jealousy flares up when he takes a deep breath and looks down at her.

"I've seen what you can do, you're amazing! Remember when we used to run through your lines together for Ender's Game? Just act like we're practicing your lines" she says gently before hugging him.

"Now come on!" she says encouragingly, taking his hand again and leading him towards the stage.

"Please turn to page 25 on your scripts. Mr.Butterflied you'll be reading as Gardner, Ms. Purnell you'll be reading as Tulsa. Please begin from the top when you're ready" the casting director says politely.

"Tulsa? Tulsa!" Jake says excitedly, changing his voice so it's a not very distinct American accent. Ella turns to look at him confusedly after reading the script for a moment.

"It's me! It..It's Gardner!" he says excitedly, taking off his glasses. Ella looks at him surprisedly for a moment before slapping him on the cheek. We all gasp in shock and lean in towards the screen.

"Ow! What was that for?" 'Gardner' asks surprised and hurt while cupping his cheek.

"Why did you ghost me like that?" 'Tulsa' growls.

"Ghost?" 'Gardner' says confusedly.

"Yeah you completely pissed me off! You didn't answer any of my messages" 'Tulsa' says annoyed.

"I told you I was taking a trip" 'Gardner says defensively.

"For 7 months?! People have phones you know, you can text..email" she says frustratedly.

"Well I couldn't contact you! It was a..it was a very specific type of travel" he says awkwardly.

"Very specific type of travel? Who even talks like that?" 'Tulsa' asks annoyed.

"Tulsa can you slow down? cause gravity is..It's very heavy" 'Gardner' says breathlessly.

"Well I'm sorry that this is heavy for you, but I really don't appreciate being blown off by the one person who I don't-" she begins to say before stopping herself.

"Tulsa I would... I would never 'ghost on you' okay, I actually went through quite a lot to get here" 'Gardner' says desperately.

"The only person who what?" he asks curiously

"Who I don't hate" she admits.

"You're taller than I thought you'd be" she says after a moment of silence, looking up at him.

"And you're meaner that I thought you'd be" he says, and I giggle in amusement. Suddenly the people in room they're in erupts into clapping and cheering.

"Well done you two! Well done!" the casting director says impressed.

Jake's POV

"You were amazing!" Ella exclaims proudly as we begin to leave the stage.

"No you were amazing" I say proudly before cupping my cheek, Ella slapped the cheek that Emma slapped the other day, so it is very sore right now.

"I'm serious! I don't know how you do it, you just become the character when you know so little about it" she says amazed as we reach the stairs.

"Hey are you okay? Oh my God, did I slap you too hard?! I'm so sorry!" she says panicked when she sees I'm massaging my cheek.

"No you're fine Ella, you didn't slap me too hard honestly, it's just still sore from my girlfriend slapping it a few days ago" I say reassuringly while we walk down the stairs. And that's when the whole room goes silent.

 _'Oh no'_ I think to myself as a reporter approaches us.

Emma's POV

We all stare at the screen in shock. Jake just told Ella he has a girlfriend, he just told her about me. Jake gas that 'deer caught in headlights' look on his face while a reporter approaches him.

"You have a girlfriend? Congratulations!" Ella exclaims excitedly, grinning at him.

"How long have you two been together?" the reporter asks eagerly, putting his microphone in front of Jake.

"We've been together for a few weeks, and for her sake I'm not going to reveal her name" Jake says determinedly.

"Why not?" the reporter asks nosily.

"Because she's not famous and I don't want her to be suffocated by the press. I need to talk to her first to see if it's alright for her to be properly introduced to the media" Jake says annoyed.

"Not famous? Are you sure she's not just a crazed fan?" the reporter asks rudely.

"First of all she didn't even know that I'm famous until a week after we started dating, second of all get the heck out if my face" Jake says angrily. All of my jealousy from earlier melts away and I watch in awe as Jake defends me. The reporter realizes he's overstepping his boundaries and backs off while mumbling an apology.


	18. Author's Note

**Author's Note: Sorry guys this. isn't an update. I know I haven't updated for a while and I'm so _so_ sorry about that. Everything's just been so crazy the past few weeks. I graduate high school in a few months and it's been extremely busy at school. I'm also going through a really rough time right now because of some bad news I received today. Thanks so much for all of your support and I hope I'll be able to update soon.** **-Kate**


	19. A Talk Between Friends

Jake's POV

I huff angrily as I watch the reporter walk off. This is one of the things I didn't miss while I was under the radar, the nosy reporters. Not all of them are bad, but there's always those few that can't take a hint.

"The nerve of that guy! Who does the think he is? Saying something like that about your girl right in front of you" Ella growls as we walk away.

"I know right! Guys like him are the one thing I didn't miss when I was under the radar" I grumble.

"So what is she like?" Ella asks curiously.

"She's sweet, funny, she has a big heart and these gorgeous grey eyes that just draw me in" I sigh happily.

"She sounds perfect Jake, I'm very happy for you" Ella says, grinning at me.

"She's amazing" I agree. We spend the next two hours talking quietly amongst ourselves, occasionally answering reporters questions.

"You ready to go to the hotel?" Ella asks me as we pick up her things and begin walking out to the limo that's waiting for us.

"Oh yes" I yawn tiredly.

"It has been a long day" she giggles before taking my hand and leading me over to the limo. We quickly put her stuff in the back before sitting down and buckling up.

"So what does she look like?" Ella whispers.

"She actually looks a lot like you, only she has pale skin,blue eyes, and blonde hair" I whisper back.

"Can I see a picture of her?" she asks curiously. I nod before pulling my phone out of my pocket. I scroll through my photos and find one of me and Emma at the mall. I hold it out in front of Ella and her eyes widen as she scans over the photo.

"Wow" she says surprised, making sure her voice stayed low.

"I know right? When I first met her I thought she was you" I admit quietly.

"Understandable, we look a lot alike" Ella says, not taking her eyes off of the picture. I look back at the picture and frown slightly. I miss my girl, I hope she's doing alright.

Fifteen minutes later we finally arrive at the hotel. We get our room keys and discover that our rooms are across from each other.

"Since we won't find out for a few weeks if we got roles in the movie, what do you say we explore a bit tomorrow?" I ask Ella with a grin as I put my stuff down.

"Sounds lovely" she says cheerfully, giving me a big smile.

"Goodnight Ella" I say as I give her a hug.

"Goodnight Jake" she whispers in my ear before releasing me from the hug. I pick up my stuff and go into my room. I lock the door and place my stuff over by the bed. I sit on the edge of the bed and look around the room that's hopefully going to be my new home for the next few months. I pull out my phone and go into my gallery. I look down at my favorite picture of Emma and I. In the photo I have my arm around her shoulders and we're looking into each others eyes smiling, our foreheads touching. I feel sadness pang in my chest as I lightly run my thumb over her cheek, I miss her so much.

 _'Please be awake'_ I pray as I dial her number. I press my phone against my ear and wait semi patiently for her to answer.

"Hello?" my angel says tiredly.

"Hi sweetheart, I'm sorry did I wake you?" I ask apologetically, glancing at the clock. it's 1:30 am here, which means it's 10:30 pm there.

"Oh not at all love! it's just been a big day, that's all" she says reassuringly.

"Alright hun" I say with a grin.

"You were amazing tonight Jake" she says encouragingly.

"Thanks Emma, I'm sorry if you're mad at me for mentioning you" I say apologetically. I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I said that, I was just so excited and I wanted to reassure Ella that she hadn't hurt me. I really hope Emma isn't too mad, at least I didn't give out her name.

"Oh no don't apologize Jake, it just surprised me that's all" She says kindly.

"Really? Well it looks like the media is going to have a field day with this, first I audition for a film after a few years of silence and I have a girlfriend" I laugh, relieved that she isn't upset.

"And I'll be with you every step of the way" she giggles.

"I like the sound of that" I say with a grin. If I do get the part I'm hoping to have her flown down here so I can keep an eye on her, and show here what it's like being on set of a movie.

"I do too" she says quietly. My eyes narrow at the change in tone, she sounds like she's trying really hard to be happy for me.

"Emma what's wrong?" I ask concerned.

"I miss you" she says sadly, her voice breaking a little. As soon as she says that I feel my heart break a little, I hadn't even thought of what the separation would do to her.

"Emma I can jump on the first flight out of here if you want me to, we can just cuddle on the couch and watch movies when I get back and pretend this never happened" I say reassuringly, ready to jump into action as soon as she gives me the go ahead. As much as I'd like to be in this film, I don't want to risk losing Emma. She's the best thing that's happened to me since I walked away from my acting career.

"No no, don't do that" she protests. I wait patiently for her to continue, knowing she had more to say.

"It's just really hard to be away from you, but I am so proud of you for taking a step back into your old life. I know you were very reluctant to agree to it" she sighs.

"It's hard for me to be away from you too, I promise once I come home I'll make it up to you" I promise her.

"You better!" she giggles.

"I should go get some sleep Em, I have to wake up bright and early tomorrow...er actually in a few hours" I say tiredly before letting out a yawn.

"Oh of course love, I understand! What are you gonna be doing?" she asks curiously.

"Ella wants to explore a bit tomorrow, we figured we'd make a day of it" I say warily, not sure how she'd take the news.

"Oh...that sounds great" she says in a cheery voice, which I can immediately tell is fake because I can here the underlying tone of sadness in her voice.

"It's you that I love Emma, being away from you for a little while won't change that. Nothing is going to change between us while I'm gone, I promise" I say lovingly.

"I love you too Jake" she says emotionally, and I can practically see her sitting on her bed with tears in her eyes.

"I'll be sure to buy you some little keepsakes from shops tomorrow" I say happily, hoping to cheer her up.

"Like saltwater taffy?" She asks hopefully.

"If that's what you want I'll buy a bunch of it" I chuckle.

"Goodnight Jake, I love you" she whispers.

"Goodnight Emma, I love you too" I say sweetly before we hang up at the same time. I plug my phone into it's charger before getting changed into my pajamas. within minutes I'm laying in bed and drifting off to sleep.

 **A Few Hours Later**

"Rise and shine!" a familiar bubbly voice shouts as I feel something bounce up and down above me.

"Groow away" I groan groggily, not even bothering to open my eyes as i bury my face in my pillow."How rude!" Ella exclaims. **(Please tell me someone recognized that Full House reference lol)**

"Come on Jake you promised!" she whines as I feel her sit on my lap before shaking my shoulders hard.

"Alright I'm up! I'm up!" I groan before letting out a loud yawn.

"Yay!" she squeals, getting off of me so I can move.

"You're lucky I like you" I grumble as I reluctantly get off of the comfy bed, and internally curse when I see it's only 7:30.

"I know, but hurry up and get changed so we can go explore! We can get some breakfast too!" she says excitedly as she races out of the room, the door shutting loudly behind her.

"How that girl is so energetic this early in the morning i will never understand" I chuckle as I quickly get dressed. I grab my phone and my backpack after combing my hair and brushing my teeth.

"What took you so long?!" Ella exclaims as soon as I lock my door.

"Calm down Ella we have all day!" I chuckle as she begins pulling me to the elevator. We get in and wait as the elevator begins moving down.

"Which is why we mustn't dilly dally!" she says excitedly, causing me to let out another booming laugh as we exit the elevator and leave the hotel.

"After we get breakfast can we stop by the candy shop? I promised Emma I'd get her salt water taffy" I whisper to Ella as I put on my sunglasses, not wanting her name to be out to the public yet.

"Of course!" She agrees with a grin. We continue walking side by side talking about everything we've been through since we saw each other last summer, and Ella is very supportive when I tell her about recently moving in with my grandfather.

"It's crazy how we met almost 9 years ago by chance at an audition and are still friends" She giggles after I finish telling her the story about how I had looked up 'Asa Butterfield' to show everyone I was being serious about being an actor.

"Yeah, ya know when I first met Emma I thought she was you" I confess.

"Really?" She asks me surprised. "Yeah. but that was before I had taken in her appearance, but what really cleared it up for me was the way she looked at me when our eyes met for the first time" I say honestly, thinking back to that day.

"What do you mean?" she asks curiously.

"Underneath the terror from the situation she was in, I could also see pain and sadness. I could tell she'd been hurt before and all I wanted to do was help. And when I looked into her eyes I swear somewhere in the back of my brain a light switch turned on. I felt like there was a connection was being formed between us. I've never felt anything like it before, all I know is that ever since I met her she's always been on my mind" I try to explain to her.

"I know it sounds crazy bu-" I try to explain after a few minute of silence before being cut off.

"I don't think it sounds crazy" Ella says gently, putting her hand on my upper arm comfortingly.

"It kinda sounds like you imprinted on each other" she continues softly, taking her hand off of my arm as we continue walking.

"Is that even possible between humans?" I ask curiously.

"Why not? We believe in soulmates, there's not that much of a stretch between the two" she says sweetly, flashing me a small grin.

"Thanks El, you always know exactly what to say" I say gratefully, glad that no matter what happens she'll always have my back.

"You're welcome Jay, now come on let's go get some breakfast!" she says softly, using the pet name she used to call me when we were kids. I chuckle and watch in amusement as she grabs my wrist and leads me to Starbucks.

 **A/N: Hey guys I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've had a few medical issues and a few weeks ago I lost my favorite pet. It's just taken a little while to find the inspiration with everything going on. I'll try updating more often so please don't give up on me :)**


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